Naruto: Legend of the Triforce 3D
by Cmartin-Panda Productions
Summary: This story we adopted from an author who had seemingly disappeared from the website. We added our own flair to it while still maintaining the authors original idea. Naruto and Sakura had been chosen as the champions of the Goddesses who created the Triforce. But what happened to Link and Zelda? Find out here.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note from Panda: Hey yo, guess whose back?  
For all you cmartin/panda fans out there we have another new story to add to the fold. Yes, another one. Cmartin found this one Naruto/Legend of Zelda crossover that had in both our minds great potential for story but was written (no offense to the original author) like it was written by a 6 year old. He felt we could give the story justice, and I was skeptical of taking on another project. But low and behold this was a pleasant surprise in how much I enjoyed writing this which I hope you all enjoy reading just as much.  
We will be taking some liberties with both canons, so let's not all get all bent out of shape when things change. It's fanfiction guys, it should be printed on the side of the box.  
So get ready for a slightly stronger and smarter Naruto and Sakura. Yes they are getting together, no this isn't optional.  
And by all means, please review to let us know how you think the quality of our story could be improved. We read every review and we take all criticisms to heart. If our jokes aren't funny or our action scenes are boring, tell us so we can get better.  
Hope to see you for chapter 2 when our heroes get their mission to Hyrule.**

* * *

In the middle of a large an ancient Temple in front of an altar with three notches in it leading up to a giant door, stood a boy, clad in green with tiny items in his hand. He had a sword and Scabbard strapped to his back along with a wooden shield with a spiral marking it on it laced in gold. Above his head floated a glowing white dot with apparent wings as the boy prepared to place the items on the altar.

"This is it, Navi." The boy said.

"All of you hard work is about to pay off." The fairy named Navi said. "Place the stones on the altar to open the door of time, Link."

Link nodded and placed the stones in order of acquisition; Kokiri Emerald, Goron Ruby and Zora Sapphire.

The door parted in the center and slowly opened to reveal a large chamber. The chamber was hexagonal in shape, a beam of sunlight peering in through the only window and shining down on a pedestal, a sword in the center of that pedestal.

"It's the legendary blade...the Master Sword." Navi said in awe.

Link made his way to the blade, stepping up onto the pedestal and gripped the sword.

"Be careful! It is said that the Master Sword is imbued with unimaginable power." Navi warned.

Link gulped and nodded. He took a deep breath and with a swift movement, he freed the Sword of Evil's Bane.

Suddenly, a vortex of some kind appeared around him, a mass of energy from releasing the blade. The force of the power was so great that Link lost his balance and fell into the side of the vortex, the energy ripping him apart piece by piece as he howled to the heavens in pain.

 **"...it seems...we were mistaken with our champion...sisters..."** A voice spoke from nothing.

 **"...yes...we must chose another..."** A second voice replied.

 **"No."** A third voice spoke. **"We must chose two..."**

* * *

"No, not again." A boy whimpered to himself as he dashed through the busy midday streets.

Behind him was a gathering mob of old bitter men and stupid young people. They tore through the vendor stalls, knocking aside merchants and shoppers as they chased down the bastard child.

"Catch him!"

"Kill him!"

"String him up by his toes!" Men and women from the mob screamed.

The nimble boy didn't dare look back. He simply kept running. His feet splashing against the muddy road that had been drenched in the torrential downpour from last night. He ducked beneath another fruit stall and ran into an alleyway, hoping to throw the mob off his trail.

No such luck, as the ally turned out to be a dead end.

 _'Why me?'_ The boy thought to himself. _'Why always me?'_

"There he is!" A man shouted as he spotted the blond boy trying to hide down the alleyway.

The boy looked around desperately for a way to escape. No ladders. He tried to jump up at the walls and climb up by the bricks, but they were too slippery from the recent rains.

"What did I ever do to you?" Naruto cried.

He was answered with a kick to his waist, slamming him into the brick walls.

"I got him!" His attacker shouted. The rest of the mob followed his lead and descended upon the boy with clubs and kitchen knifes.

"This is for my husband you little monster!" One teary eyed woman shouted as she whipped Naruto across the face with the flat end on her kitchen knife. She wanted him to suffer like her Tai did.

"I didn't do anything to you...leave me alone!" He shouted.

"Shuddup, demon!" Another man bellowed as he punched the boy in his face.

The onslaught of beatings, stabbings and whippings continued relentlessly as the poor orphan cried and fruitlessly tried to defend himself.

 _'Stop it...'_ Naruto thought desperately.

 _'I didn't do anything. Stop it...'_ He thought as he felt a burning sensation in the back of his right hand. He thought that the villagers were trying to brand him again.

 _'No, stop it...'_ He thought as his pain grew greater.

"STOP IT!" He shouted, and his hand exploded into a blinding white light.

The villagers felt a tremendous force pushing them back. Many were knocked on their sides and others were thrown completely out of the alleyway.

"THE DEMON HAS AWOKEN AGAIN!" A villager screamed, sending the rest of the mob fleeing for their lives, and leaving Naruto bloody and alone in the dirty alleyway. He looked over in a daze and could have sworn he saw a familiar head of bubblegum hair he loved so much.

'Sakura-chan...' He thought before collapsing.

* * *

Moments before, A little girl with vibrant pink hair was walking with her mother through the market. Another boring day shopping as it were, when they saw the bright flash of light coming from a nearby alley.

"What was that?" The little girl asked.

"I don't know, sweetie." The woman said before a massive crowd of people came running down the street, screaming in terror.

"Come on, Sweetie." Sakuri urged to her only daughter. She didn't need to be a former Chunin to know that this was a matter best left to the Jounin and ANBU of the village. The two of them would only get in the way. "Sakura...?" The woman asked as she looked down and saw that her daughter had run off on her.

"SAKURA!" She shouted as she saw her only daughter run up to the alley where all of the commotion was coming from.

Sakura ignored her. She felt drawn to the white light as she made her way down the damp and spooky alleyway.

Her feet carried her over the broken clubs and knocked over trash cans to see a familiar blond boy laying face down in the mud.

"Naruto...?" She asked in astonishment.

Naruto didn't respond, but Sakura could barely see from afar a glowing seal on the back of his right hand, one like she had never seen.

The light shined in her eyes, it was the most beautiful and the most terrifying thing she had ever seen. And for some reason it compelled her to raise up her own right hand, where a similar three pieced triangle glowed from within her own hand.

The light from her hand overwhelmed her and she fainted away at the sight of it. Her face landing next to Naruto's as they both remained unconscious.

"Sakura?! Sakura!" Sakuri shouted for her daughter as she ran down the alleyway.

* * *

Some time later, Sakura woke up inside a hospital room. The white walls and the smell of sterile equipment were the first things she noticed as well as a dull pain on the back of her right hand and a painful headache that seemed to make her eyes make her vision double.

"Ugh...my head..." Sakura groaned.

"Sakura sweetie." A voice said beside her before wrapping her up in a big motherly hug.

"M-mom...?"

Sakura rubbed her eyes. "What happened...?"

"I don't know, sweetie. There was a flash of light and then I found you fainted in the mud. By the time I arrived the ANBU were already stationed around you go keep you safe..." Sakuri explained.

 _'ANBU? Those are the creepy men in masks that keep the village and the Hokage safe.'_ Sakura thought. Since when was she ever so important to merit their attention?

Sakura remembered something and looked on the back of her right hand and saw that same seal that she Saw on Naruto's hand. "What's this?" She asked. It was a large triangle made of 3 smaller triangles, but the left one was brighter than the other 3.

"The doctors don't know. They say that your symptoms match up with chakra exhaustion, but they have never seen a seal quite like that one before." Sakuri explained.

"But...I saw..." She remembered that Naruto had one and then became worried. "Where's Naruto?" She asked with concern

Sakuri grimaced at her daughter's mention of the demon child. In truth, she knew that the boy was not any kind of reincarnated demon, she did not fear him in the slightest. It was the other, more ignorant villagers that she feared.

Everyday they would ignore Naruto at best and mistreat him at worse. The mobs definitely got more violent as the anniversary of the Kyuubi attack drew near. With the actual date of October 10th being the worse for the boy.

Sakuri and Sakura were headed out to buy some things for the festival when they ran into Naruto. Sakuri was shocked when she discovered her daughter and that boy surrounded by ANBU agents, yet the so called "highly trained black ops ninjas" failed to immediately take both children to the hospital. They would rather wait for direct orders from the Hokage, in the slim hope that Naruto would die before then.

Sakuri and her silver tongue had set them straight. They were taken straight to the hospital, yet Sakuri still insisted that they be given separate rooms. Try as she might to act noble, she didn't want her only daughter to be associated with the demon child, lest she suffer treatment similar to his.

"Mommy, where is Naruto-kun?" Sakura asked more forcefully than a little 5 year old should be able to.

"He is in a different room, sweetie. Being treated by other doctors." Sakuri explained, leaving out the part that she had personally requested it.

"I want to see him." Sakura said as she forced her wobbly little legs out of the covers and tried to stand up, only to be stopped by her mother.

"No Sakura, stop! You need your rest." Sakuri begged.

"I wanna see Naruto-kun. He was hurt badly and he's my friend!" Sakura insisted. She kept fussing by flailing her arms, yet Sakuri proved stronger.

"Sakura. No. I forbid you to see him." Sakuri shouted, making the young pink haired girl stop in her tracks.

"What?" She squeaked.

Sakuri steeled herself for what she had to do. She knelt down to speak to her daughter face to face.

"Sakura, I don't want you seeing that boy ever again. Please..."

"Why?" Sakura asked.

"Because he's bad news, and I don't want you to get dragged down with him." Sakuri tried to explain, yet it only seemed to reignite Sakura's fussing.

"No!" She shook herself side to side, trying to break free from her mother's grip. "Naruto-kun is my friend! He chased off the bullies and made me smile when I was crying! He's been there for me and I wanna be there for him!" She shouted as she finally managed to break free from her mother and ran out the door.

"Sakura!" Her mother shouted.

The girl tore through the hospital hallways, just as Naruto had done through the streets just a few hours ago. She found a nurse that was terribly bust and asked her, "Excuse me miss, where is Naruto-kun staying?"

The nurse looked at the girl like she had grown a third eye. "Naruto-kun?"

"Yes, he's my friend." Sakura explained.

The nurse smiled, like she found Sakura's words cute.

"Well hopefully he's in Hell right now, with the rest of the demons."

Sakura looked up in horror at what that adult just told her about her friend. She ran past the woman, ignoring her shouts or whatever else. She needed to find Naruto. Then everything would stop being crazy. He'd do something funny and all their troubles would go away.

"Oof!" Sakura cried as she ran into some kind of hard drapes. She fell flat on her butt and was about to scramble up to continue her search when she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Whoa there, my child, where is the fire?" A kind older voice asked.

Sakura stopped her running and looked up to see a wizard old man wearing white and red robes with a really big hat on his head that obscured his entire head from the ceiling lights above them.

"Excuse me, mister. I need to find my friend." Sakura insisted, not recognizing the old man for who he truly was.

"I see. What is her name? Perhaps I could help you find her?" The old man offered.

"His name is Naruto." Sakura said, hoping that the man would actually help her and not call Naruto-kun a demon.

That made the old man's eyes widen, not that Sakura was looking up to see this.

 _'So Naruto actually managed to make a friend?'_ Hiruzen thought to himself, pleasantly surprised.

"Naruto, eh? I know exactly which room he is in."

Sakura looked up at the man with renewed hope. "You do!?" She squealed in delight.

"Yes. I'm somewhat of a caretaker of Naruto's." The 3rd Hokage said as he offered his hand for Sakura to take. "Come, I shall take you to him."

Sakura wasted no time in taking the old man's hand. Hiruzen couldn't help but chuckle to himself. 'You've found yourself a true friend, Naruto. Maybe even something more.'

They two walked down through the main hallway and down a secret corridor that no other patients or staff members seemed to notice. At the end of that hallway was a door guarded by two ANBU agents who quickly stepped aside in the presence of the old man, but Sakura didn't realize or care why.

The old man opened the door and there was Naruto. Laying unconscious in a single bed with a heart monitor beeping nearby.

"Naruto!" Sakura shouted as she tore past the Hokage and stopped at Naruto's bedside. Her hands reached out to touch the boy and make sure that he was okay. That's when Hiruzen noticed something peculiar. The back of the right hand of the girl was glowing. She didn't seem to notice, but Hiruzen could clearly make out three triangles arranged in a larger triangle glowing through the bandages wrapped around the girl's hand. And if he was not mistaken, he saw a similar glow being emitted from Naruto's right hand.

 _'So...they have been chosen...'_ Hiruzen thought. He knew of the legends behind that seal, but he never thought he would get to see it in his lifetime.

Hiruzen stepped outside for a moment to speak with one of his ANBU. "Find Sakuri Haruno, the girl's mother, and bring her here." He instructed.

"Yes sir." The ANBU responded before taking off to find her.

Hiruzen then turned to the ANBU wearing a silver Wolf mask. "I'm entrusting you to look after those two. They have just become far more important than any of us had originally thought...Kakashi..."

"Yes my Lord." Kakashi nodded before sneaking a peak inside the hospital room. Even at such a young age, the boy reminded Kakashi so much of the 4th Hokage, maybe it was just his hair or how he had seen Naruto stand up to the bullies his age, he was definitely his father's son. As for the girl, maybe it was the way she was slouching over the boy's bed, but her mannerisms reminded him so much of Lady Kushina, which was probably more of a testament to how childish the Uzumaki woman really was.

"I will guard them with my life, my Lord." KAkashi responded.

"I know you will." Hiruzen nodded.

Just then, both of them heard footsteps coming down the hallway and saw a frantic mother stampeding towards them.

"Where is my baby!?" Sakuri demanded.

"Sakuri, it's good to see you." Hiruzen smiled.

Sakuri stopped in her tracks when she realized who she had just addressed. The leader of their village, the strongest ninja in the land, the professor. "Lord Hokage." She bowed furiously.

"It's quite alright, my dear. And Sakura is safe, she's in visiting Naruto."

Sakuri grimaced at the mention of that boy's name. She looked inside through the glass window and saw her daughter sleeping next to the boy, her head laying down on his mattress and her arms reaching out to hold his. It was so precious Sakuri felt like she wanted to cry.

"Is he...okay...?"

"He is okay. He's been through a lot worse than what he came in with. But I have something very important to tell you about their seals." Hiruzen said seriously.

"Seals? What seals?" Sakuri asked as she looked again and noticed her daughter's hand glowing brightly, even in the well illuminated room.

"They each have a specific seal that is beyond any seal created by a Shinobi." Hiruzen said quietly. "Have you heard the legends of the Sages and the Sacred Realm?"

"The Sages? I've only heard of the one Sage. The Sage of Six Paths." She replied.

Hurizen nodded. "Come with me, we have much to discuss."

He led her to a private office where he took a seat at a desk and she sat in another chair in front of said desk.

"The Sage of Six Paths, as you know him, is not who he truly was. He was created as a bridge to the Sacred Realm with the powers of all 6 ancient sages imbued within him. The sage of Forest, the Sage of Fire, the Sage of Water, the Sage of Shadow, the Sage of Spirit and the Sage of Light. they are the servants of the 3 goddesses who created our world, Din, Farore and Nayru. The 6 Sages were chosen and tasked by the goddesses to watch over our world and to protect the most powerful artifact known to our race; the Triforce." Hiruzen explained.

Sakuri's eyes went wide. She had heard the stories of the Triforce, but never gave it much thought.

"What does that have to do with Sakura?"

"I'm getting to that. Once every 1000 years, the goddesses will bestow 3 chosen people with their powers to restore balance and peace in our world. The seals on the back of Naruto's and Sakura's right hands are the goddesses gift to them; the power of the Triforce."

"Who...who is the third?"

"I'm afraid I do not know for certain...but know this...the destiny of those two children are now intertwined. They have been chosen as the champions of the goddesses to restore peace to our world. They have become far more important than any Kage or Daimyo. Their roles in this are simple. Naruto has been blessed with the Triforce of Courage. His role is to protect the one who holds the Triforce of Wisdom; Sakura."

"Is that so...?" Sakuri asked as she looked over at the two young children. They weren't even academy students yet. And they were already chosen by some triangles to fulfill a great and terrible destiny. _'And the boy...Naruto...had fate not burdened him with enough already?'_ Sakuri thought as she looked at the whisker marks adorned upon Naruto's cheeks.

"Lord Hokage, I have a request..."

"Yes my dear?"

"I would like to adopt Naruto, please." She begged.

Hiruzen sighed. "While I would love nothing more than to let you be Naruto's guardian, I'm afraid I cannot allow it. For your safety and Sakura's."

"What? But he's a little boy. He needs a family, a home." She said.

"I know...and I would love nothing more than for you to be the one to give it to him. But the scorn of the villagers would also be placed on you and Sakura for keeping him. That is something that my conscience will not allow me to let happen. But fear not...my most trusted ANBU here will watch over them both and guard them with his life."

"But what about Naruto? What is he supposed to do? Where is he supposed to go? I can't sleep soundly in my own bed if I know he was out on the streets." Sakuri said almost hysterically.

"I didn't say you had to turn him away at your door. He'll be Sakura's good friend. So treat him as such. Invite him inside for a meal. Offer for him to stay that night. To spend time with him. Be the surrogate mother to him that he needs." Hiruzen pleaded. His position as Hokage did not allow him to play favorites with Naruto or even to invite him inside his own clan, but Sakuri from a low level clan would have the best chance of doing this without being wrapped up in powerful clan nonsense.

Sakuri nodded and sighed. "Alright...I'll do that at least..."

"Thank you." Hiruzen smiled.

"But wait a minute...what's Sakura's role?"

"Ah yes...her role is to spread her light to the people of the world, uniting them together and banishing the evil and corruption in the hearts of the wicked. As the legends foretell, Sakura is the 7th Sage and the leader of the 6. She is the elite Guardian to the Goddesses. In time, her powers will become apparent, as will Naruto's."

"And you said that Naruto would act as her guardian, keeping her safe. What would the third triforce user's role be?"

"As history tells, the Triforce of Power that is bestowed to the selected champion, is usually corrupted by the power of that piece. As history tells it, the one who had been gifted with the Triforce of Power, was a demon by the name of Ganon..." Hiruzen said grimly.

Sakuri gasped in fear. "And this demon will come after my baby?"

"He will come after the world my dear, not just her."

"Well why aren't you sending ANBU and teams of Jounin out to kill him? Save my daughter from him before he can do anything?"

"We don't know where he is or if he even exists anymore. But according to history, even the worlds fiercest warriors were no match for his power."

Sakuri felt so helpless. There a monster somewhere out in the world after her baby and she could do nothing to stop it. The Hokage saw her frustration and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Do not dwell on it, Sakuri. What comes will come, and the children will be trained for that day as best they can be. Until then, love them. Love them both, raise them right, and ensure that their childhoods are not ripped away from them. Do this, and I know that one day the love in their hearts will help them succeed more than jutsus or weapons ever could."

Sakuri sighed shakily and looked to her daughter, who was still seemingly napping next to Naruto.

"Okay...I'll do my best..."

The two adults then hear groaning coming from the bedside. They looked over and noticed that Naruto was beginning to stir.

"Oh god..." Naruto groaned.

"Naruto?" A woman's voice said to him as he felt something glide through his hair as if to comfort him. But who would ever try and comfort him besides the Old man?

He opened one eye and could make out a blur of pink hovering over him.

"Sakura-chan...?" He asked weakly.

 _'Sakura-chan?'_ Sakuri thought. _'What a cute nickname. Considering that he's younger than my daughter.'_

"No Naruto, I'm Sakuri Haruno. Sakura's mother." She said softly.

Naruto blinked a few times and saw that the woman was indeed much older and than Sakura-chan and unmistakably her mother. Nevermind the dark pink hair, she had her daughter's face almost to a T.

"Mrs. Haruno? How come you're here?" Naruto asked.

"I came to check up on you and find my daughter." Sakuri said. Naruto followed her eyes and noticed another mess of pink hair resting right next to him bed.

"S-Sakura-chan...? Why is she in a hospital gown..?"

Then a horrifying thought came to him. "She didn't get hurt by them did she? Please tell me shes okay." Naruto demanded with concern.

"She's alright. She had something similar to chakra exhaustion, but a minor version. As soon as she woke up she dragged herself over to your bedside." Sakuri said with pride.

"S-she did...?"

"She did. She cares about you a lot, Naruto. I can tell. You are a very important friend to her." Sakuri stated.

"I...am...?" Naruto choked out.

"You are." Sakuri smiled.

Naruto just looked down at Sakura's sleeping form. He couldn't see her face, but he could make out the puddle of drool on his sheets.

"I...have a friend..." Naruto choked out, a tear coming down his cheek.

"Are you going to say that you don't want me playing with her anymore?" He asked Sakuri, setting himself up for rejection like all those other times.

Sakuri just smiled. "I wouldn't think of it. In fact, how would you like to stay with us for a couple of nights? Have a nice home cooked meal and get a proper bath."

"For reals?" He asked hopefully. He had never been invited to someone else's meal before.

"For real. Sakura doesn't have any friends either and you are very special to her."

Speak of the devil. At that very moment Sakura began to stir awake.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto said in bewilderment. Stirring the girl awake further.

"Mmmmm, Naruto-kun?" Sakura muttered as she opened her eyes and saw her friend awake and sitting up straight.

"Naruto, you're okay!" She shouted before tackling him with a hug.

"Ack! Sakura! Air!" Naruto cried as the 5 year old girl squeezed the absolute life out of his ribs.

"Oh my. I think I'll give you two some privacy. I'll go grab some food. You two must be starving." Sakuri said mischievously as she made her way to the door. Leaving only the two adolescents alone in the hospital room.

"What did she mean by that?" Naruto asked.

"No idea. My mom is weird sometimes." Sakura said as she carefully let go of Naruto. "So what was that about back there? Why we're those people attacking you, Naruto-kun?" Sakura asked, nay demanded to know.

Naruto looked down sadly. "I wish I knew...they've been doing this to me for as long as I can remember. I never did anything to them..."

"That's horrible..." Sakura said. She knew that she was bullied because of her large forehead. It was stupid and it wasn't her fault, but she still knew about it. To attack Naruto for no reason when he was funniest, kindest, and bravest boy she knew was just crazy.

"Even the doctors and nurses here hate me...I don't know what I did, but I wish they would all leave me alone..." Naruto whimpered.

Sakura felt like crying. How could they do that? How could anyone, kids or adults, be so mean?

She wanted to cry, but then she remembered her first time meeting Naruto a little over a year ago.

"Don't cry, Sakura-chan. Don't give'em the satisfaction. Ya gotta be strong." He said to her.

Sakura instead wrapped Naruto up in a hig, this one far more gentler and intimate than the last one.

Instead of her crying, it was Naruto. He never felt affection from anyone save for the 3rd, only cruelty and disdain.

"Naruto-kun. I promise you. I will always be your friend." Sakura promised.

That just opened a new floodgate of tears, not because he was sad or heartbroken, but because he was happy. Happy that he had finally made a friend that would always be there for him.

"I promise too!" He cried. "I'll always be your friend, Sakura-chan..." He blubbered.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note from Panda: For anyone wondering why it's called Naruto: Legend of the Triforce 3D, it's because the original author THE 7** **TH** **DEMON OF RAZGRIZ based his off of Ocarina of Time for the N64. So we are basing ours off of Ocarina of Time 3D, the 3DS remake.**

 **(Round of applause for the cleverness)**

* * *

The next seven years were some of the best of both Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno's lives. They were inseparable as best friends. Everywhere one of them went, the other was close behind. They'd play together, eat together, pull pranks together, sometimes they'd even have sleepovers together. They fought off Sakura's bullies, outrun mobs chasing after Naruto together, and even made new friends among some of the more well-known clans like the Nara, the Yamanaka, the Akimichi, and even the Inuzuka.

They even went to school together and attended the same classes each year. Well, all except for one. Sakura cried all night when she found out she and Naruto weren't sharing a class in their 4th year. Until Naruto snuck into the headmaster's office and changed the roster.

In school, Sakura would always help Naruto with his studies, which he always fell behind on. While Naruto helped Sakura train for the physical exercises so that she wouldn't get left behind.

Yes sir, their lives had pretty much been perfect. But as with all good things, they must come to an end. Which Naruto and Sakura discovered quickly after their graduation from the academy.

"Naruto-kun! Come, wake up! We're going to be late!" Sakura called from her bedroom. 7 years had passed since their meeting in the hospital. A lot had happened since that time. They had graduated the academy together alone with Sasuke Uchiha and became teammates under the command of Kakashi Hatake. Naruto had suspected that Sakura was going to have a crush on the mopey Uchiha and forget about him, but it never happened. She saw him as someone who was too depressing and moody to be anything more than just a friend.

Together, they completed their very first A rank mission and ultimately saved a village from going under financially. There, Sakura's and Naruto's powers from their Triforce seals awoken, giving them a substantial boost in power. Enough to take down both Haku and Zabuza. They had questioned why this had happened and how, but Hiruzen wouldn't give them an answer.

Much later, their sensei gave them the go ahead to compete in the Chunin exams, only to be met with Ninja of a much higher caliber than their own. However, the ending result of the exams was interrupted by the Sand and Sound sneak attack on the Hidden Leaf, leaving the village without a Hokage and Sakura an orphan, just like Naruto. Of course, being the ever caring friend Naruto was, he was right there to comfort her when she learned of the passing of her mother when the Sand Village invaded.

They had gone out together along with the Toad Sage, Jiraiya, to find Tsunade Senju, the world's greatest doctor and future 5th Hokage. It wasn't easy brining her back, but they did so together.

Eventually after that, Naruto opened his home to Sakura, who was depressed from living on her own in her mother's house. The pain of losing her mother was enough, but to be in a house by herself with everything that reminded her of her mother was just too painful. She moved in with Naruto and took a spare bedroom with her own bed. They lived together, laughed together, cried together, ate together, they were inseparable.

Today, they were going to be briefed on a huge mission that they were going to be a part of. But Naruto, being his usual self, slept through his alarm clock while Sakura tried to get dressed.

 _'Lazy Baka. And Ino says that Shikamaru is bad.'_ Sakura thought to herself as she put on her usual red combat dress.

"Naruto! Wake up!" Sakura called again, still no response except more snoring. _'What am I going to do with him...'_ Sakura sighed before she pulled up her shorts and walked out of her room only to see Naruto splayed out across his bed, snoring like a baby in nothing but his boxers.

 _'Ah, how cute...'_ She thought as she walked quietly over to his mattress and flipped it, sending him crashing to the floor.

"WAKE UP!"

"GAAAH!" Naruto hollered in shock.

Sakura had to stifle a laugh as he struggled to get up off the floor. "Come on, Baka. We're late." She said as she threw his orange pants at him.

"Ow! What was that for?!" Naruto protested.

"I just said we're late for our mission briefing..." Sakura deadpanned. "Now come on and get dressed."

"Is this any way to treat your superior officer?" He smirked his famous shit eating grin. Sakura just rolled her eyes and threw his Chunin vest at his smug face.

"No uniform, no chain of command." Sakura teased and stuck her tongue out at him.

"Oh just wait until I get my vest on." He threatened as he tried to stick his arm through the collar of the vest.

"Save it for later. You know Lady Tsunade doesn't like to be kept waiting."

That made Naruto stop and sweat. If there were three women in the world who terrified him it was Sakura-chan, Sakuri (God rest her soul), and Granny Tsunade. The later of whom hit harder than the other two women in his life combined.

"Come on! Let's go!" Sakura urged.

* * *

Sometime later, they arrived in the Hokage's office with a rather irritated Tsunade starting right at Sakura and Naruto.

Naruto just whistled innocently, as if that had ever worked, with Sakura taking a cue out of Naruto's book as she rubbed the back of her head and stuck out her tongue.

"You know; I expect this from Naruto." Tsunade started. "But from you, Sakura?"

Sakura just looked down in shame and shuffled her foot on the carpet.

"Anyway...the reason why you are all here is because we were just contacted for aid by the King of Hyrule himself." Tsunade started, earning gasps from everyone except the famous all time dunce.

"The who?" Naruto asked.

"Seriously Naruto. Don't you ever read history?" Shikamaru asked.

"Why would I? I've got Sakura-chan to remind me of everything I don't know." He replied, earning some laughs from a few of the other guys.

Sakura sighed. "The King of Hyrule, the great kingdom to our west that resides outside the elemental nations. The ones that aided the Leaf Village during the 2nd Shinobi war with their impressive army."

"Impressive army? What's so great about their ninjas?" Naruto asked.

"They don't have ninja's." Tsunade corrected. "They have a massive military of elite knights."

"Woah, that's going back a ways..." Kiba mused.

"Actually, I'm wrong." Tsunade corrected herself. "They have a tribe of ninja's called the Shiekah. They were once Shinobi of the Elemental nations before they were contracted into serving as personal body guards to the Hylian royal family."

"But for the most part, before there were ninjas, there were knights and samurai. Like the Land of Iron, the Kingdom of Hyrule kept their royal guard of knights clad in metal armor and used shields, swords, and bow and arrows." Sakura finished.

"Correct." Tsunade said before she unrolled a world map, showing exactly where it is and held it up. "This right here is Hyrule." She pointed to a large territory on the main continent.

"Holy shit. It's bigger than the Land of Wind!" Naruto declared.

"Yes, it is. Hyrule saved our asses during the 2nd Shinobi war. Now they are calling us in for a favor. They have been at war with another country for 7 years. It's a 2,700-mile journey so it will take you a couple of weeks to get there."

"We gotta cross all that?" Kiba shouted. Pointing at the huge gap between the Land of Fire and Hyrule.

"Not even the Land of Snow was that far away." Naruto stated, getting equally nervous and excited at the same time.

"I hope we're getting paid a lot for this." Kiba groaned.

"In addition to your regular Chunin and Genin pay, you each will receive 100,000 Ryo worth of gold for each month of service to the king. He doesn't know how long this war will last, so you may be there for quite some time." Tsunade informed, making all of the jaws in the room drop.

"Also, you will be paid for each day by the king for your service, to cover living expenses and such." Tsunade added.

"M-months...?" Hinata stuttered.

"O-o-one hundred thousand?" Naruto stammered. He and Sakura-chan could afford to move back into her mother's apartment. No, they could afford an even better one.

"Oh my god..." Ino gasped out. Think of all the clothes she could buy. Hyrule was one of the most fashionable countries in the world.

Choji's mouth was watering imagining all the foreign delicacies he could eat once he got there.

Sakura meanwhile noticed something rather familiar. The symbol for Hyrule on the map. The three golden triangles.

"What is this marking on the map?" Sakura asked.

"The Triforce? Oh that's the country's symbol. The same way that ours is a leaf with a spiral." Tsunade responded.

"Odd choice for a symbol but okay." Sakura shrugged.

"So what are we going to be doing once we get there?" Shikamaru asked.

"You all will be assisting the royal guard in defending the Princess. Their royal army has been stretched thin and the King wishes to send most of his guards to battle without compromising the safety of his only daughter." Tsunade said.

"Sounds simple enough." Shikamaru shrugged.

"Who are they fighting?" Naruto asked.

"The Gurudo bandits and their leader, Ganondorf." Tsunade informed.

"Ganondorf huh? What kind of a stupid name is that?" Naruto laughed.

"Never underestimate an opponent by their names. You of all people should appreciate that, Fishcake Swirls." Tsunade replied.

Naruto grew a tick mark on his forehead.

Sakura tried and failed to stop herself from bursting out laughing.

"Sakura-chan..." Naruto whined.

"Oh relax, Fishcakes." She teased. "It's just a joke."

"Not any worse than your nickname, Forehead." Ino teased.

"Shut it, Ino-pig!" Sakura snapped.

"what was that Billboard brow?!" Ino snapped back.

"Enough!" Tsunade shouted. Silencing the entire room.

"Now normally we would send an actual team of Jounin and Chunin, for obvious reasons..." Tsunade said with spite to let all of the genin feel ashamed of themselves. "But we are still in the process of recovering from the Sound/Sand invasion and we need a minimum number of Jounin here in the village to be combat effective. So we are send you 12 ninjas, sorry, 11 ninjas with Kakashi acting as the sole Jounin leader. Kakashi..." Tsunade handed over the floor to the one eyed Jounin.

Kakashi looked up from his little green book to address his soldiers.

"You've all been on missions with your Jounin sensei before, and you've experienced war through the invasion. But these long term missions are another matter entirely. We will be gone for months, expect to be gone for at least a year. There we will do whatever the King commands of us until we are relieved by the next team of Konoha Shinobi, or the war ends. I shouldn't have to remind you guys that the chain of command goes me, your two Chunin, and then the rest of you genin. For the three man squads that don't have any Chunin, decide a leader amongst yourselves. We move out tomorrow morning. Pack everything you need for a long journey."

The remaining Konoha 11 all stomped their heels together and shouted as one. "Sir!"

Wavering eyes turned to Shikamaru and Naruto. While Kakashi's leadership was unquestionable and Shikamaru had more or less proven himself as a tactical leader on their hunt for Sasuke, Naruto was only recently promoted after Tsunade learned that he was denied his Chunin Exam promotion solely out of spite by the Council. Coupled with his victory over Gaara, his fight against Kabuto, and his work in trying to retrieve Sasuke, Tsunade felt that there was no other genin more worthy of the promotion in her eyes.

Still, to the rest of his peers, he was a wildcard. He was undoubtedly strong, stronger than many of them would have ever believed save for Sakura, but his leadership qualities were still green.

"Dismissed." Tsunade said finally.

The young ninjas all went at ease and filed out of the Hokage's office.

* * *

After a short while, Sakura and Naruto arrived back in their apartment.

"Months...Naruto-kun, that is a long time for a mission..." Sakura said as she searched her things.

"Yeah it is, but still it's exciting." Naruto replied as he packed away his swim trunks (which were of course orange).

"Did you see the symbol for Hyrule? It looked like the seals on our hands." Sakura said.

"I did..." Naruto said seriously. He put down his socks and unwrapped the cloth he always wore around his right hand.

"Lady Tsunade said it was called the Triforce...there has to be something significant about it." Sakura said as she unwrapped her hand.

Both seals were already glowing from being in such close proximity to one another. The both of them realized this after Naruto's 5 birthday. That the seals would increase and decrease their brightness depending on how far they were from one another. It made playing Hide and Seek entirely too easy.

"Maybe we can find out something about it while we're there." Sakura suggested.

"We've definitely got enough time to do so." Naruto agreed.

"There has to be a reason why we have...these..." Sakura spoke slowly as she found herself inching closer to Naruto.

"Um...yes..." He stuttered as he felt his face inch closer and closer to hers and his eyes became very focus on her lips. "We should..."

 **KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!** A banging from their front door broke Naruto and Sakura apart.

"Whoops, that's the door. I'll get it." Sakura declared as she made her way to the front door of Naruto's apartment.

 _'Damn it...'_ Naruto cursed.

Meanwhile Sakura answered the door and found herself face to face with Ino and her team.

"HELLOOOOOO, FOREHEAD!" Ino sang.

"Um...what's up?" Sakura asked.

"What's up, is that you still live in this pig sty. I can't believe you wouldn't want to take up my offer to live in my clan's compound with me." Ino said as she observed the absolute mess that was Naruto and Sakura's apartment. Even after a few months of Sakura's best efforts, the apartment was only passable by female standards.

"Well I'd be trading one pig sty for another. And at least Naruto doesn't oink in his sleep." Sakura bit back.

"Har har. Are you two coming to the BBQ Place? Kurenai-sensei got the other Jounin to treat us as a going away present and we thought we'd turn it into a party." Ino said.

"In a little bit we've got packing to do first." Sakura replied.

"You can do that later. Come on, Forehead. Boys, grab the blond idiot." Ino ordered as she dragged Sakura out of the apartment and down the walkway. Much to the pink haired girl's kicks and protests.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru muttered as he and Choji stepped inside to inform Naruto that Ino had kidnapped his roommate.

Meanwhile Ino dragged Sakura far enough away to ask her what she really wanted to know from her friend.

"Alright, spill." Ino said suddenly.

"Spill what?" Sakura asked in confusion.

"What is going on between you and Naruto." Ino asked bluntly.

"Nothing. We're just friends, Ino." Sakura said.

"Bullshit." Ino stated. You and I are 'just friends.' You and Naruto however practically grew up together. You played together, had sleepovers together, slept in the same bed, bathed together-

"We stopped that when we were 7!" Sakura defended.

"-had the same classes together (you cried when you almost weren't)." Ino reminded her. "Then you two were put on the same squad together. And now low and behold you two are now living together alone in the same apartment for a month now! You're really going to tell me that there is nothing going on between you two?" Ino pressed.

"He was my first friend, Ino. My first, true friend. He never had anyone and had a shit childhood. I was there one day after one of the beatings he got from the Villagers." Sakura defended.

"I saw you and him through the window. You were mere inches away from kissing. Explain that one." Ino shot back.

Sakura went wide eyed. "We just...we were just...packing!"

"Packing what? Your tongues? I can tell when two people are about to kiss and both you guys' lips were almost touching. I may be blonde, but I'm not stupid."

"Oh Ino. You don't need to be blonde to be stupid." Sakura said back, trying to redirect the conversation.

"Why you-no. Don't change the subject." Ino said seriously. "Your face was redder than the Hokage Tower when you answered the door."

"I... I don't wanna talk about it, Ino." Sakura said as she tried to walk away.

"You love him...don't you." Ino said lastly, making Sakura stop dead in her tracks.

 _'Do I really...?'_ Sakura thought. "Of course I love him. He's like a brother to me." Sakura answered.

"That's not what I meant and you know it." Ino said firmly.

"Y-you mean...like in love with him...?" Sakura blushed.

Sakura imagined herself and Naruto eating together on a hilltop with a picnic lunch and a tree for shade. They were both laughing at a joke one of them had told. Sakura was wearing a flowing summer dress and Naruto was in regular pants with an open shirt and showing off plenty of chest hair.

 _'What am I thinking? Stop it! Stop it!'_ Sakura thought as she slapped her cheeks.

Sadly, she couldn't. She remembered all of their moments together. The way he comforted her when her mom died, the times she was always there for him when the villagers ganged up on him, then what almost happened a few minutes ago.

A small smile crept to her face without her knowing. The joy she felt any time she was around him was almost intoxicating.

"Okay, so I just read your mind through that first daydream of yours and now I'm kind of rooting against you two." Ino admitted as she shuttered at the thought of Naruto having a blond bush on his chest.

Sakura blushed. "What else did you see?!" Sakura exclaimed, like she was trying to hide something.

"Nothing I didn't already know. What's important is are you going to go after him or are you going to let Hinata try to sink her claws into him?" Ino asked.

"What are you-wait...Hinata? Oh shit, I nearly forgot about that..."

"And that just confirmed it. You're in love with him!" Ino squealed.

Sakura was as red as blood. "I swear if you tell anyone I'll-"

"Relax, I'm not saying a word." Ino waved off.

"Good, because you cannot tell him!" Sakura threatened Ino with her fist. The same fist that had knocked Ino right out and sent Sakura to the Chunin Exam Finals.

"Why the hell would I tell him? That's your job." Ino stated.

"Tell who what?" A voice behind them asked, making Sakura jump when she saw it was Naruto.

"Ah! Uh...n-nothing!" Sakura said quickly.

"Didn't sound like nothing." Naruto said as he stood there in his Chunin vest, looking particularly handsome for some reason Sakura couldn't place.

"Well it was nothing!" Sakura insisted. This only made Naruto more curious and he leaned forward to get right in Sakura's face. Making her very nervous.

 _'Gotta think of something quick.'_ Sakura thought. "Hey Naruto, half priced ramen right behind you." Sakura pointed out.

"Where?!" He asked as he turned around quickly, only to get a boot to the behind from Sakura, sending him flying over five city blocks and into the trees.

"YAH-HO-HO-HOOOOOOO!" Naruto screamed as he sailed away.

"Oh...why did I do that..." Sakura said shamefully.

"Because you're an idiot who lets her emotions rule her judgement and jumps to conclusions." Ino said as she patted Sakura on the back. "You two will be perfect for one another when you both man up enough to confess."

Sakura just hung her head in shame as she muttered to herself. Ino rolled her eyes. What was she to do with her friend?

"Come on, Forehead. Some food will do you good." She said as she led Sakura down the road.

"Yea, I suppose..." Sakura sighed.

* * *

The next morning, everyone gathered at the gate ready to start their long journey to Hyrule.

The parents for all of the children had come to see them off. Even Hirashi Hyuga had come to wish his eldest daughter and his nephew good luck on their journey.

"Good luck to the both of you. And Neji, please keep Hinata safe. Not as your duty as a branch member, but as your cousin." Hirashi requested.

"Yes, sir." Neji bowed.

"Good luck, sweetie." Ino's mom said to her before hugging her.

Choji's father wrapped him up in a bear hug as Shikamaru's father patted him on the shoulder.

Kiba and Shino were saying their goodbyes to their own parents as we're the remaining genin from Team Guy.

In the place of Sakura's mother, Tsunade and Jiraiya had come to see their pupils off.

"Remember to read and reread your scrolls before attempting any new medical jutsu." Tsunade reminded her young pupil.

"Yes, M'Lady." Sakura replied as she respectfully bowed her head.

"Did you get a chance to say goodbye?" Tsunade asked.

"Isn't that what I'm doing?" Sakura asked in confusion.

"I meant...your..."

Sakura realized what Tsunade meant and her mood became somber and sad. Other's around her could sense her shift in mood and they knew why.

"Y-yes...I did..." Sakura choked out.

"Very good." Tsunade said as she wrapped up her youngest pupil in a bear hug. Showing a rare display of affection by the Lady Hokage.

The young apprentice returned with gusto seeking comfort. Her mother has only been dead for little more than a month now, but she still had a hard time coming to terms with her mother's death.

The others lowered their heads as a sign of respect for Sakura's fallen mother. While most of the other kids didn't know what it was like to lose a parent, the elders of the bunch did and it was no easy thing to go through.

Jiraiya even took the time to pat his own pupil on the shoulder. "Look closely. That's gonna be your job soon enough." He whispered to Naruto so that only the boy could hear him.

"What do you mean?" Naruto whispered.

"You'll figure it out someday." He said as he ruffled his pupil's hair.

Sakura and Tsunade pulled away and the pinkette wiped the tears from her eyes. "Thank you..."

"Don't mention it. Just keep your chin up. You're not going to win a certain blond idiot's heart if you're always moppy all the time." Tsunade winked at Sakura. Causing the poor girl to blush deeply.

"I-wha-I... d-don't know what-"

"Save it, Sakura. I could tell from the moment I met you two." Tsunade smirked.

Sakura just blushed as she nodded silently.

Tsunade smiled and put a hand on Sakura's shoulder. "Go get him."

"Right!" Sakura declared.

She ran off to join the rest of her group. Everyone was all packed up and ready to begin what would surely be the adventure of a lifetime.

Suddenly a cloud of smoke erupted in front of them, temporarily blinding the group.

"Who the Hell is this?" Naruto asked loudly as the smoke began to clear.

"You're escort." Tsunade said as a man appeared. He wore some kind of blue suit that was white around the collar down the bottom of his chest. In the center, was what looked like an eye with a tear coming from it colored crimson red. His hair was black, his eyes red and had a Katana on his back.

"I'm Shiekan, elite guard to the Royal family." He introduced.

"And he is the equivalent to 10 Leaf Jounin." Tsunade added. The genin all did a double take at the man alledged to be worth 10 of their sensei's.

"Ha, you honor me, Lady Hokage." Shiekan bowed. "Yet I am still hardly one to compare to the infamous Copy Cat ninja of the Leaf. Or even to two of the Three Sannin."

"And modest as well. It's good to see you again." Tsunade smiled.

"Likewise, Lady Hokage." Shiekan said as he observed the crumbled walls surrounding the village. "I'm sorry to see your village in such disrepair. I only wish we had caught wind of the Sand's betrayal. We would have sent a raven to warn you and the Third Hokage might still be alive."

Tsunade sighed. "It's fine...your country has enough to deal with."

"Yes we do. Is this what I can expect to return with? A single Jounin, two Chunin, and a 9 Genin? The Chunin looking no older than the Genin?" Shiekan inquired.

"I'm afraid this all we have. Oh..." Tsunade got up close to whisper something into his ear. "The blond chunin and the girl with the pink hair have the Triforce parts." Tsunade whispered so that only he could hear.

Shiekan's eyes went wide. "You jest..."

"Dead serious." Tsunade whispered seriously.

"That should make things very interesting." Shiekan said vaguely.

"Tell them nothing about the seals or their roles. They are not ready."

"My lips are sealed. But if the rumors surrounding this Ganondorf are true, if he truly is THE Ganondorf...they might have to be told sooner than expected..." Shiekan stated.

Tsunade took in a deep breath and sighed. "If that's what you have to do then do so."

Shiekan nodded as he lay a comforting hand on Tsunade's shoulder. "Worry not, my old friend. If the time comes, then the time comes."

"Did you just call me old..." Tsunade growled as fire formed in her eyes.

"Say Kakashi, don't you think we should get a move on? We're burning daylight as it were." Shiekan said quickly.

"Agreed, the sooner we leave the better." Kakashi said.

 _'Yeah you'd better run.'_ Tsunade thought.

The preteens all gave their respective parents one last goodbye hug and threw their backpacks over their shoulders. Naruto himself stretched out his neck, wanting to get every kink out of his system before departing. This was it. His first real mission as a Journeyman ninja. He would prove himself worthy of the ranking to himself, his friends, his teachers, and to Sakura-chan. Then, when they were all done. He would buy a nice house for him and Sakura to live in. One worthy of her approval.

"Move out." Kakashi ordered.

The 12 shinobi plus the foreign shinobi took off towards the west, where the sky was darkest in the morning, but would turn the bright before night. Their feet pounding against the dirt and the roots before leaping off towards the tree branches and vanishing from sight.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note from Panda: TACTICAL FLUFF NUKE! INCOMING!**

 **Enjoy.**

Seven days had passed since the Konoha 11, led by Kakashi, had journeyed off towards Hyrule. They had since passed through the forests of the Land of Fire, the deserts of the Land of Wind, the mountains of the Land of Earth, and now they found themselves a thousand miles from home and halfway to Hyrule in the valley of some far off lands none of them knew the names of.

The Konoha 11 were arranged in order of their squads. With Kakashi and Shiekan leading the pack, Team Kurenai leaping behind them, followed by Team Asuma, then Team Kakashi, then tailed by Team Guy. The squads were set up so that every team had an effective visual line of communication with the Jounin leaders in the front. While having specialized ninjas such as the two Byakugan users were stationed near the front and back of the formation.

As the sun began to set in front of the group, just as it touched the tree line, Kakashi gave the hand signal for his troops to descend. Like a wave, they all leapt to the ground and stood ready for action in case of an enemy sighting.

"This looks like a good place to make camp." Shiekan stated, confirming Kakashi's inquiry.

"WE'RE STOPPING HERE FOR THE NIGHT!" Kakashi shouted back. Earning an overwhelming groan of approval from all 11 young ninjas.

"We have just entered the outer boarders of Hyrule." Shiekan said as he looked at his map.

"That means that we are halfway to our destination!" Kakashi clarified. Earning more groans from the greener ninjas as they contemplated having to do run just as far as they had already traveled.

"Set up camp and get some food in your bellies! Tomorrow is a rest day!" Kakashi ordered. Which earned a slightly more enthusiastic response.

The shinobi all immediately dropped their backpacks and rolled their shoulders to try and stretch them out.

This was the second time they had had a rest day, but that didn't make their journey any easier. The idea was that they would run for three days straight, stopping only to sleep at night and to grab a bite to eat, followed by a day of staying at one campsite. That meant nursing blisters, getting a more filling meal, training, and most importantly, sleeping in.

"This means we gotta be on a sharp lookout tonight. There are monsters the likes of which you've never seen." Shiekan said to Kakashi as he pulled out a deck of cards.

He laid them out in front of Kakashi that had different pictures of monsters.

"These are what you need to look out for." He then pointed to one of the cards. "Stalchild. They are slow and weak but they show up in great numbers and only at night."

Kakashi observed a rather goofy looking skeleton with a with top mouth and no jaw. With glowing yellow eyes and was carrying around a thigh bone it no doubt used as a club.

"I think I heard somewhere that these things are weak to water?" Kakashi asked.

Shiekan nodded. "Stalfos." Shiekan said as he pushed another card forward. "Much more dangerous than the Stalchild. They are said to be fallen Hylian knights who are possessed by dark forces. They are proficient with a sword and shield and are difficult to dispatch. Use explosives to finish them."

"Noted. They can only be finished by explosives? No blunt force trauma or fire?"

"Explosives are the most effective."

"Noted. I'll have a few of the Genin make more explosive tags for the group."

Shiekan nodded before pushing forward the next card. "Redead. They are essentially zombies. Easy to kill, but they have a very effective form of defense. A scream that will paralyze your nervous system before it jumps on you and starts eating your head. Fire is most effective against them."

He pushed forward another card. "Gibdo. Same deal as the Redead."

"So what is the difference?"

"Gibdos are harder to kill when it comes to blades, but are very susceptible to fire."

He pushed forward another card. "Wolfos. Tough frontal defense and hunt in packs. Aim for the back."

"A ninja's specialty." Kakashi replied.

"Agreed." He pushed forward one last card. "Poe. Essentially a ghost of demonic nature. Projectiles work the best. Try not to look at them because they will disappear but can still attack you. Senbon and arrows work the best."

"Sounds like right up the Hyuga's alleyway."

"Agreed." Shiekan said before gathering his cards and putting them away. "Those are just what we need to worry about until we get to the inner borders."

"Sounds simple enough. The kids should have the camp set up by now. I can get 4 of them making more explosive tags, e of them cooking dinner, and the rest patrolling the area." Kakashi stated.

"Sounds good."

The two Jounin packed away their map and started assigning jobs to the other ninjas.

The girls (save for Tenten) chose to cook the meal. With Naruto, Kiba, Lee, and Tenten being chosen to make the explosive tags. Tenten because she was the undisputed expert with all things weapons, and the rest because Tenten needed the extra hands. The remaining ninjas were led by Shikamaru to patrol the area while Kakashi and Shiekan gathered firewood.

"No no no, Naruto." Tenten lectured. "You've got the calligraphy all wrong. These seals will detonate way too fast. You'd have to arm them the second you threw them with your kunai, otherwise you'd blow your whole arm off."

"I'm trying, okay? I'm no good at this." Naruto defended.

"Ugh, just go help Lee and dog boy wrap the finished tags. 200 to a stack. 1 stack for everybody." Tenten ordered before shooing Naruto away from her work station. Naruto grumbled as he got up and joined the two other guys on tag duty. He noticed that they seemed to be talking about something or more accurately someone.

"You're so full of it." Kiba said to Lee.

"Full of youth." Lee countered. "I would never give up my love for Sakura-chan to you!" Lee declared.

"Excuse me..." Naruto growled.

The two turned to see that Naruto had joined them.

"Oh hey, Naruto. Think you could settle a bet for us? Who would Sakura more likely go out with? Me or Bushy Brows over here?" Kiba pointed.

"Neither." He said firmly.

"Ah, come on man. Humor us. Aside from Ino, she's the hottest girl here. And last I checked she was into bad boys. Something me and old Duckbutt had in common before he turned traitor." Kiba said.

"Wait, what about Hinata-hime?" Lee pointed out. Earning a chuckle from Kiba.

"Nah, she's like a little sister to me. Plus, a bit too timid for my taste. And having her cousin breathing down my neck would be a pain. But by all means, you two should take a crack at her." Kiba suggested. "Back to the main subject though. Come on, you think I couldn't get Sakura to take a walk on the wild side?" He smirked.

"Neither of you are going to have her." Naruto said. "Because I'm going to ask her out."

Kiba actually laughed. "You? Mister Brotherzoned?"

"Yea, you keep thinking that. You don't know what happened the night before we left." Naruto gloated.

"What? She kicked you into a tree?" Kiba laughed, having heard Naruto's screams from 10 blocks away.

"Well...yea that was after the fact. But I'm talking about before. She almost kissed me before Ino interrupted." Then he thought about something. "Also, she even told me that you stink, Kiba. As in, you smell like a wet dog."

Kiba just shook his head. "Nice try, blondie. I've seen Sakura pet Akamaru just fine when he's wet. Probably because she's used to being around you all the time."

"Why you!" Naruto growled.

* * *

As the trio fought, the girls that were cooking watched them.

"W-what do you think they are talking about?" Hinata asked.

"Anything, knowing them." Sakura replied simply.

"Probably arguing over who they wanna date." Ino said slyly.

"W-what?" Hinata stammered, her face flushed red.

"Don't mind her, Hinata." Sakura waved off.

"Why? Aren't you curious who we'd date?" Ino teased.

 _'I'm gonna kill her.'_ Sakura thought. "Not really, because there are more important things to worry about."

"Really? You wouldn't want to play Bang, Marry, Kill then?"

Sakura sighed. "If only to amuse you."

"W-whats B-b-bang... that game?" Hinata asked. Earning an evil smirk from Ino.

"Oh it's a fun game. My older cousins taught me how. You pick out three guys..." Ino gestured to the three boys fighting with each other instead of wrapping their explosive tags together. "...and you each decide which of the three you would rather kill, bang, or marry. I'll go first." Ino offered.

"So no brainer. I'd kill Lee, bang Kiba, and marry Naruto." Ino declared.

Both girls blushed furiously at Ino's declaration.

"W-w-what?!" Sakura stammered. "Why would you choose that?"

"Because Lee's caterpillar eyebrows creep me out. Kiba seems like a fun guy, but not long term material. And Naruto has been raised next to you all his life, so he has an idea of how to treat a lady." Ino explained, hoping to get a rise out of both girls.

"L-lets change the subject." Hinata squeaked. Hoping not to have to speak if such vulgar things.

No such luck when Ino was involved.

Sakura on the other hand wasn't having any of it. "Oh no. Naruto isn't going to marry some pig faced pervert."

"It's just a game, Forehead. No one is asking you to propose." Ino stated the obvious.

"Wha-Who said anything about proposing?!" Sakura exclaimed.

"You did. But how about we come back to the first group and move on to another three guys?" Ino smirked.

"Yes, please..." Hinata said softly.

"Alright then..." Ino said as she tried to pick out another three contests. "Neji, Shino, and...Shikamaru." She said.

"Um...I'd have to say...kill Shino -no offense Hinata, but bugs creep me out- bang Neji and marry Shikamaru. He's lazy, but at least he isn't stupid." Sakura listed off.

"Really? I'm kinda divided. I don't know if Neji would be a good husband. Sure he'd be more mature and pretty to look at. But I wouldn't want a stiff for a husband. Then again, it might be better than having a lazy butt like Shikamaru. So marry Neji, bang Shino because he might not fall asleep during the act, and kill Shikamaru." Ino said.

"Wow... What about you, Hinata?" Sakura asked.

"I'm really interested to hear what you would do to your cousin." Ino smirked.

"Kill him." Hinata said sourly. She was still mad at him for what he did to her during the Chunin exams.

"Woah, harsh..." Ino said.

Hinata tried to stay strong. In truth, for the most part she no longer held resentment towards her older cousin. But another part of her definitely did not want to marry or...bang him...

"He's my cousin. Why would I marry or bang him? That's just wrong." Hinata clarified.

Sakura shrugged. "Fair enough."

"Shikamaru I'd marry and Shino I'd...bang..." Hinata said.

"So who's next?" Ino asked.

"Well the only other boy here is Choji, unless you count Shiekan and Kakashi-sensei." Sakura pointed out.

"Shiekan is too old. How about Choji, Kakashi, and Tenten?" Ino suggested.

"Tenten? But she's a girl!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Hey, love knows no gender, Forehead. This ain't like the Warring States period." Ino said smugly.

"Ugh...fine..." Sakura groaned before she looked over to the 3 in question. "Damn...um...I'd...kill Choji...bang Kakashi sensei...and marry Tenten." Sakura decided hesitantly.

"Woahoho, really?" Ino smirked.

"N-no, I'd marry Choji and kill Tenten." Sakura changed her mind.

That didn't sway Ino's devilish smirk. "Something you wanna share, Forehead?"

"There's nothing I want to share and definitely not with you!" Sakura snapped. Getting Ino to laugh.

"Alright, fine. I'd kill Choji, bang Tenten, and marry Kakashi. I always liked the strong and mysterious types." Ino smiled devilishly.

"Yea, now who has something to share?" Sakura smirked.

"Unlike you, Billboard Brow, I don't feel need to hide my more...risqué interests." Ino said as she placed her open palm very high up on Sakura's thigh.

"H-hey! Cut it out!" Sakura blushed.

"Make me..." Ino whispered.

Sakura lit up like a Christmas light and jumped back like she sat on a hot plate.

"AHAHAHAHA! You should see the look on your face!" Ino howled with laughter.

"PIIIG!" Sakura yelled.

"Guys, the stew!" Hinata shouted, stopping Ino and Sakura from kicking over the boiling pot filled with their dinner.

"Oh shit... sorry." Sakura said sheepishly.

Ino opened up the pot to check that the hearty rabbit and owl stew was still intact. Thankfully to their shared relief nothing was burning and it smelled delicious.

"Okay, crisis averted. Now what about you, Hinata? Who'd you Kill, Bang, Marry?" Ino inquired.

"I... don't wanna do this anymore..." Hinata shied away.

"Oh come on. One more and then we can get back to Naruto's round." Ino wiggled her eyebrows.

Hinata sighed. She knew that she couldn't get out of this easily.

"I'd...marry Choji. He seems like a nice boy. Kill Tenten and...bang Kakashi sensei..."

"Huh...somehow I wasn't expecting that." Sakura said.

"I'd...never actually do that. It's just because I have no other options..." Hinata tried to explain.

"Fair enough."

"Alright, so back to the original line up. Lee, Kiba, and Naruto." Ino smirked.

"Okay...um..." Hinata stammered. "Kill Lee, bang Kiba and... marry Naruto..." The last part she said dreamily.

"No fair, you stole my order." Ino laughed.

"Yea mine too." Sakura said without thinking.

Hinata looked shocked at Sakura's quick declaration. Ino herself was laughing.

"Dang. No love for Lee. How disappointing."

"I'd bang Lee and kill Kiba if it meant that I got to marry Naruto-kun!" Hinata declared.

"Oh yea? Well I've known him the longest and we've been there for each other when we really needed it so stand in line sister." Sakura declared before she realized what she said. "Uh...I-I mean..." Sakura blushed.

"You? You're like his sister! His abusive sister that hits him all the time!" Hinata growled, making Sakura snap.

"Only because he deserved it!" Sakura bit back. The two kunoichi then butted heads and growled at one another. With Ino deciding for once to stay out of it.

"Wallflower." Sakura hissed.

"Billboard Brow." Hinata hissed.

"Spoiled Princess."

"Stubborn Brute."

"Chicken shit coward."

"Drooling idiot fangirl."

"Fangirl?! Like you're no different!" Sakura snapped.

"At least I didn't have a crush on a traitor!" Hinata snapped back.

"What?! I never had a crush on him, period!"

"Yeah right! I bet if Sasuke was still here you'd kill Naruto just to bang and marry Sasuke!"

At that point, Sakura snapped and her Triforce seal glowed brightly. She grabbed Hinata by the collar of her shirt and lifted her up high effortlessly.

 **"You stay away from him. Because no fancy Hyuuga trick or kekkei genkai will stop me from what I'll do to you..."** Sakura growled sinisterly, scaring the poor Hyuuga heiress.

"Sakura, stop it!" Ino shouted, but the pink haired medic in training wouldn't listen.

"Sakura! Put her down!" Kakashi shouted as he returned with firewood.

Sakura's eyes remained fixed on Hinata who was struggling to break free. Her eyes solid white with rage and her seal glowing brightly.

"Sakura-chan! Stop it!" Naruto pleaded.

It was Naruto's voice that snapped her back to reality for a brief moment. Hinata fell to the ground before Sakura passed out.

Naruto flash stepped and caught Sakura before she fell to the ground. Kakashi meanwhile checked on Hinata as Kiba and Akamaru crowded around her.

Hinata massaged her neck as she carefully breathed in and out. "Witch." She muttered.

"What's all this then? I leave you three in charge of dinner and you're at each other's throats. You think this is the attitude of ninja?" Kakashi barked.

"Um...well..." Ino stammered.

"No. It is not. I don't care whatever kind of petty squabble is going on between you two. You'll settle it tomorrow during training or not at all." Kakashi declared. "I won't have this impacting the mission. Not while we travel through dangerous lands and certain not once we begin protecting the Princess."

"Fine by me." Hinata said in a rare show of determination.

"Uh, Kakashi sensei? Sakura is out cold." Ino reported. Kakashi sweat dropped. He had saved up this awesome speech and everything.

"Naruto, when Sakura wakes up, tell her she is sparring with Hinata tomorrow to settle their dispute." Kakashi ordered.

Naruto looked down at the unconscious face of his teammate and best friend.

"Sure thing." He said.

He picked Sakura up and carried her back to their tent. All the while, Naruto could have sworn that he felt someone's eyes burning holes in the back of his shirt, only he didn't know that it was Hinata.

Carefully, he slung Sakura onto his back and unzipped their tent before placing her on top of her sleeping bag.

He watched her snoring softly, her chest ever so slightly raising up and falling. She looked so peaceful resting the way she was, her short hair a mess from laying down.

Naruto leaned forward to brush one of her bangs behind her ear, just the way he had always watched her do it.

 _'She's so beautiful...'_ Naruto thought fondly.

"Mmmmm..." Sakura groaned as she began to stir awake.

Sakura opened one eye and was immediately met with Naruto's crystal blue eyes. "N-Naruto...?" Sakura mumbled.

"Sakura-chan. You're alright." He sighed in relief as he fell back to sit on his butt.

"What...what happened...?" Sakura asked.

"I don't know. One minute Ino was laughing at you and Hinata. The next minute you and Hinata got all up in each other's faces and then you grabbed her by the neck and started screaming at her in this really scary voice." Naruto reported.

"I... don't remember a thing...is she okay...?"

"She's fine. She's still ticked off at you for some reason. Probably because you choked her. Why would you do something like that, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked seriously. Sakura didn't like that disappointed look he was giving her. She only remembered her mother giving that look to the both of them whenever she caught them pranking.

"Because she...she insulted you Naruto." Sakura lied.

"What?" Naruto asked.

"She was saying that you didn't deserve your Chunin vest. She thinks you're a great ninja. Just not fit for a leadership rank yet." Sakura fibbed. "I told her she was full of crap. One thing led to another and well..."

"Hinata said that? I have a hard time believing that." Naruto said, not buying Sakura's story.

"It's true. I didn't believe it either when I first heard it, but it's the truth." Sakura insisted.

"Sakura..." Naruto sighed. "How long have we known each other?"

"As long as I can remember..." Sakura admitted.

"And how much time have we spent together? In your house, on the street, pulling pranks...we've been doing that for years. If there's one thing I know how to do is read people and I can tell you ain't telling me the truth. I'm not asking as your superior. I'm asking you as your friend. What really happened?"

Sakura sighed. Of course he could read her like a book. She'd have no choice but to tell him the truth.

"Okay...so she didn't say anything about your Chunin rank. She's just upset with me because the three of us were talking about girly things and the topic got on to about you and me. always living together. Hinata was upset that we live together on our own. She's from a very traditional household you know. And she was basically saying that it was unfair that I got to live with you when, according to her, I beat you up all the time. And it just set me off." Sakura admitted. Not the full truth anyway.

"So... she insulted you out of jealousy." Naruto deduced.

"Yeah, basically. It just really pissed me off when she implied that I hurt you for no reason. You're my best friend Naruto. I would never intentionally hurt you like that." Sakura begged, almost on the verge of tears.

"I know you wouldn't and it doesn't exactly make me warm and fuzzy that she would say something like that."

"I know...I'm sorry...it's not her fault. We were all pretty irritated because we couldn't find enough rabbits for the stew. And we had to use an old owl we found. Ino didn't want to use it but I insisted that it was good and it just got so frustrating after a while." Sakura sobbed.

Naruto started rubbing the sides of her shoulders, the same way he did when her mother died. "It's okay Sakura-chan, just be calm."

Sakura just buried her face in his chest and let out her tears. She could feel his soothing touch and smell his musky scent that was so uniquely Naruto. Something that never failed to calm her down. Through thunderstorms when they were little kids or on the couch after she got a B on an exam.

Naruto then started humming to Sakura the same tune her mother always used to sing to them when they were both stressed.

"...hmmm HMMM Hmmm hmmm HMMM Hmmm..." Naruto hummed, just like Sakuri used to lull the both of them to sleep.

The melody was sweet and calming to Sakura, exactly how her mother used to sing it. He was missing a few notes, but she didn't care.

Unbeknownst to them, a pair of eyes was watching through the crack of the tent door. A pair of piercing, callus eyes whose gaze threw daggers at the two of them.

The figure vanished before either of the ninjas could even realize they were being watched.

* * *

Sometime later, the two of them emerged from their tent after Naruto had told Sakura about her upcoming duel. They found the rest of the group already chowing down on rabbit and owl stew.

"Everything okay?" Kakashi asked.

"Yeah we're good. Is that rabbit and owl I smell? I'm starving." Naruto quickly changed the subject.

"Yup, dig in."

Naruto did just that, diving right into a bowl of stew as Sakura just rolled her eyes at his eating antics.

"Sakura, I want to speak with you a moment." Kakashi said as he stood up.

"Huh? Uh, sure thing, Kakashi sensei." Sakura replied.

The two walked away from the camp far enough to where they wouldn't be disturbed. "Care to explain what all of that was about earlier?"

"Do you want me to tell you the truth I told Naruto or the actual truth?"

"I want the full story."

"Well the short version is that I've decided that I love Naruto and I can't have Hinata deciding to get too bold with him."

Kakashi actually raised an eyebrow. "Wow...I... wow...I... honestly didn't expect that." He admitted. "Actually no, what am a saying? Of course I expected it. I just didn't think it would happen so soon." Kakashi clarified.

"Geez...did everyone expect this or something?" Sakura wondered.

"Sakura, I've known you and Naruto since he was five years old and you were 5 and 1/2. You two are closer than some semis twins and more intimate than married couples I've known for decades."

"R-really...? Were we...that obvious?"

"You two were like an open book. I knew that someday you two would end up together, but that's beside the point. The fact is that you could have killed Hinata. You need to keep your temper in check, otherwise you will end up killing someone."

Sakura hung her head low. "I didn't mean to. I would never do that to any of my comrades. But she said that I would kill Naruto if it meant I could be with Sasuke..." Sakura's tone grew dark at the mention of their former teammate's name. "...and it just set me off. I didn't know what I was doing. I just wanted her to shut her lying mouth."

Kakashi sighed. "I know you didn't mean to, but you still need to keep a lid on your emotions. Especially with...whatever this power is you and Naruto have. I will talk with Hinata later and hopefully set things straight. For now, go get some food and then you and Naruto get some rest."

"Right, thank you, sensei." Sakura bowed before rejoining the rest of her friends. Leaving Kakashi alone with a hidden Shiekan whom had been eavesdropping.

"I know you've been watching..." Kakashi announced.

"I made that obvious enough to you, but not to the girl." Shiekan spoke.

"I figured."

"So her powers are only triggered by strong emotions. Namely love and jealousy."

"Is that normal? I'm afraid I don't know the full story."

"She has the Triforce of wisdom, which grants her a natural affinity to the powers of Light. Eventually, she will unlock her potential and be able to use this power at will. She will have the ability to banish all those with evil hearts to the sacred realm for eternity."

"Is there a catch to these powers?" Kakashi asked.

"Such as?"

"Anything. It saps her energy, it kills her in the end, it cripples her, she'll never fall in love. In my experience these things never come free."

"Her power was granted to her by the goddesses. There is no catch."

"There is always a catch. Even when it's not obvious." Kakashi stated.

Shiekan sighed as he thought back to the legends surrounding the Triforce. "According to history, those who were granted with these powers had no negative effects. They essentially become demi-gods."

Kakashi just looked at Shiekan like he would any other religious fanatic.

"I've seen a lot of incredible things in my time. Unimaginable powers, dark spirits, monsters larger than mountains, time travelers, never once have I run into anything truly free. There is no such thing as a free meal."

"When it comes to the power of the goddesses, a lot will surprise you."

Kakashi sighed. "If you say so." He said before opening up his little book to find a nice quiet spot to read.

"Actually...there is one thing." Shiekan said before KAkashi walked away.

"And that is...?" Kakashi asked.

"She will be the prime target for the one who holds the Triforce of Power."

"And who would that be?"

"I just had a falcon confirm my worst fears about 10 minutes ago. Ganondorf is the man behind this war and according to the reports...he is the one who holds the Triforce of power."

"Then why shouldn't I have this platoon turn around and head back to the Leaf where Sakura will be safe?" Kakashi asked.

"He would just come looking for her there as well. His power exceeds all of the Kage's and jounin in the Elemental Nations combined."

"You don't exactly inspire confidence. You know that?"

"There is a way to stop him, but it requires Naruto and Sakura to do it."

"And what would that be?"

"Their combined powers, plus the power of an enchanted sword called the Master Sword. Its other name is the Blade of Evil's Bane."

"I've heard of that. One of many legendary swords from around the world." Kakashi stated.

"Naruto has to be the one to wield that blade to slay Ganondorf, hopefully for good."

"Isn't that how it always goes? The hero always defeats evil 'for good?'"

"That it is it seems..." Shiekan mused.

* * *

The next morning, Sakura stirred awake, feeling rather calm, warm and...

 _'What is that?'_ Sakura thought. She was hearing some thumping noise in her left ear. She opened one eye and noticed that she was sleeping on Naruto's chest and blushed furiously.

 _'Ooohh...my god...'_ Sakura thought. She was laying on Naruto and he was...warm, strong and the sound of his heartbeat was soothing coupled with his breathing.

That just made Sakura snuggle up to him more. The sounds she heard were so soothing that she eventually drifted back to sleep with a warm smile on her face.

That's when Naruto began to stir awake. He tried to lift his right arm up to rub the sleep out of his eyes, but found it pinned under something heavy, warm, and soft...

He looked down to see a mess of pink hair laying on his chest and an arm reaching up to wrap around his left shoulder.

 _'Sakura-chan?'_ Naruto wondered to himself before his morning brain kicked in. _'Oh...she's sleeping on my chest. She hasn't done that since we were kids. Or since she lost our...her mother...'_ He thought sadly. That argument she had with Hinata must have really upset her. He decided he could let her continue to sleep on his chest for a little while long. She deserved as much and he could never refuse her. He didn't need to pee THAT badly.

"Naruto..." He heard Sakura say in her sleep.

He looked down and noticed that Sakura was drooling on his chest again. She always did this when she slept on her belly. Sakura would deny it to the ends of the Earth, but Naruto always found it so cute.

"Sakura-chan..." He whispered in case she was sleep talking.

"SAKURA HARUNO!" A voice echoed from outside their tent.

Sakura snapped her head up, still half asleep. "Huh...wazzat...?"

"GET OUT HERE! I'M TIRED OF WAITING!" The voice bellowed again. Naruto could have sworn he recognized that voice.

"Is that...Hinata?" He asked more to himself than anything.

Sakura sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "What the hell...can't a girl sleep in peace?"

"Apparently not. I think she wants that match with you." Naruto groaned. This was supposed to be their one morning to sleep in. What the Hell was Hinata doing shouting at...

"Sakura, what time is it?"

"I don't know...do I look like I carry a watch?"

"You know I don't. And I thought you were always the more responsible of the two of us." Naruto reminded her.

It took her a minute, but she realized that she did have a watch and checked it. "Oh for the love of...its 5 in the morning..."

"5 in the...the sun is only just coming out. I thought it was 9..." He groaned.

"It's not..." Sakura showed him her digital watch and it said 5:02.

"Hinata! Go back to bed!" They heard another voice call out.

"SHUT UP, YAMANAKA!" Hinata shouted back.

"Go back to bed! That's an order!" Kakashi called out.

"MAKE ME!" Hinata shouted without thinking about it.

"Oh that's it." Sakura muttered before she kicked off her warm sleeping bag and scrambled to put on her boots.

"Yea, I'm with you on this one." Naruto grumbled before slipping on his sandals.

"No. Don't you get up." Sakura requested as she pushed him back down.

"Huh? Why?"

"Just stay here and keep the sheets warm. I'm gonna beat her ass and then go back to bed." Sakura growled.

"But I..."

"No buts. Just let me handle this." Sakura insisted.

"Uh...okay..." Naruto relented.

Sakura smiled and gave Naruto a pat on the head like a good boy. She then ruffled through her bag looking for her gloves (unknowingly giving Naruto a great view of her behind). As soon as she found them she unzipped the tent and headed towards the campfire where she saw Hinata being lectured by Kakashi.

"-and don't think for a second that I won't regret sending you home." Kakashi said sternly.

"Morning Kakashi sensei." Sakura said as she stepped into their conversation.

"Morning. You can head back to bed, I'll handle this."

"Actually sensei. I'd rather just get it over with a fight her if it's all the same to you." Sakura said.

Kakashi sighed as he saw the resolve and determination in Sakura's eyes. "Fine...good luck."

"Thank you, sensei." She responded. Not that she would need it.

"Let's make this quick because I'm really sleepy." Sakura said sarcastically. "And I'd like to get back to using Naruto-kun's chest as a pillow."

"What..." Hinata growled.

"Oh please. We've been doing that since we were kids. Face it, if he wanted you, he would have asked you out years ago." Sakura retorted. "Now come on." She said as she dropped into her taijutsu stance. "Naruto-kun is waiting...for me."

Hinata activated her Byakugan. "I'll make you regret those words, bitch."

"All I'm regretting right now is leaving his bed." Sakura replied.

That tears it. Hinata dashed towards Sakura with full intent to cause as much harm as possible using her gentle fist style.

She thrusted her open palm towards Sakura's chest, hoping to shut down one of Sakura's major chakra nods. Instead, Sakura grabbed the Hyuga girl's arm, twisted it, kicked out her feet from under her, then threw the Hyuga princess over her shoulder and flat on the ground. As Hinata felt the force of her body hitting the ground, Sakura swept her elbow across Hinata's face, breaking her nose and knocking her out cold.

Kakashi looked on in awe at Sakura's accomplishment. Naruto had taken down Neji in the Chunin exams, albeit with extreme difficulty, but to see his weakest pupil take down the Hyuuga heiress with ease? That was something entirely different.

"Sakura...? How did you..."

"She pissed me off." Sakura said simply.

 _'Damn. A month with Tsunade and she's already leagues above her peers. Just how powerful will she become?'_ Kakashi thought. Just three months ago she was on part with the best kunoichi of their year, Ino. She still won that fight, but she definitely struggled. But now...

Sakura walked back to her tent like nothing happened and crawled back inside to an awaiting Naruto.

"Done." Sakura said simply.

"You didn't hurt her too bad, right?" Naruto asked as Sakura slipped underneath the covers.

"I broke her nose and knocked her out. She didn't even lay a finger on me."

"Wow. Someone learned a lot from their mentor. All Pervy Sage managed to teach me in a month was the summoning jutsu." Naruto praised.

"Hey, when your training consists of getting knocked around, you learn fast."

Naruto chuckled. "Ain't that the truth. And you've earned a reward."

"Oh have I now? And what would that be?"

"I don't know... Whatever you want." He said without thinking.

"Is that so?" Sakura asked with a devilish smirk. "I'll have to put some thought into that."

"Yawn, yep, you do that..." Naruto said as sleep began to take him again.

"I think I know of something." Sakura smiled.

"Huh? Wazzat?" Naruto asked.

"I said, I know what you can give me."

"And I was asking what that was in a tired voice." He replied sarcastically.

Sakura giggled.

"Well...um...it's a little embarrassing to ask..." Sakura blushed. "I was wondering...if...you would...give me a..."

Naruto could see she was acting timid and shy, something she rarely if ever showed unless she wanted...

"S-sakura-chan... you want me to kiss you?" Naruto asked in amazement.

Sakura's blush only deepened and she nodded. "On the forehead!" Sakura clarified quickly. "Like mommy used to do..."

"R-really...?" Naruto now had a blush of his own. She had never asked him to do that.

"You said I could have anything right? Mom always used to kiss me there after I did good on a test or when I made it past the preliminaries to the Finals of the Chunin Exams..." Sakura explained.

Before Sakura could finish, she felt a wet warmth on her forehead.

She felt feelings she never felt before. She had felt the warm touch of her mother's lips on her forehead before and she never felt the way she did now. Her cheeks flushed pink, her chest started to warm up, she felt butterflies in her stomach and her body started feeling like jelly.

 _'W-what is this feeling...?'_ Sakura thought just before Naruto pulled away.

"So how'd I do? As good as mom's?" He smiled down at her. Sakura felt so flustered that she buried her face in his chest.

"Nope. Not as good as mom's." She said as hid her face in his pajama shirt. _'It was a million times better.'_ She thought.

"Aw...guess I'll just have to try harder." Naruto smiled before wrapping an arm around her back and laying down with her.

"Yeah..." Sakura said before the beat of Naruto's heart lulled her to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**And now its time for another lovely chapter. Be fore warned, this does contain a risque scene in the hotsprings, but we kept it toned down to accommodate a T rating. But please, enjoy and we'll update again real soon.**

* * *

Five hours later, the whole group was awakened and finishing off the breakfast of fish Hinata's teammates had caught as a peace offering to the rest of the platoon.

Nobody dared ask what happened to Hinata's nose out loud. It was broken, Sakura did it, and that was that. Hinata herself didn't say a word as she sifted through her fire cooked trout and rice with soy sauce.

Of course this did mean that a lot of eyes were now on Sakura, the troublemaking bookworm had now shown her fangs as a kickass kunoichi. Hinata might have been the runt of the litter among the Hyuga clan, but no mere Genin one-shot-ed a Hyuga like that.

"Girl went from an 8 to a 9." Kiba muttered to Shino, while Naruto was distracted.

Lee himself was positively vibrating with excitement.

"After we finish here, we'll take inventory and possibly make a stop to a shop." Kakashi stated.

"There is a town about two days run form here, just outside the Hyrule Inner border." Shiekan informed.

Shiekan then pulled out his map. "Here is where we are." He pointed to a sector on the map. "If we make a slight detour to the ocean, we will arrive in Termina. There we can restock on supplies."

"Does that mean we get an early rest day?" Choji eagerly asked.

"Call it more of a half day, Choji." Kakashi smiled through his mask. He might be a veteran, but ever he knew how exciting the thought of days off were to a soldier, any soldier. This would doubly serve as a way to boost morale among the ninjas.

"You should outfit yourself with proper clothes and armor. Kunai and Jutsu's will only get you so far here." Shiekan advised.

"Why would we wear armor? Armor slows you down and we ninjas rely on being light on our feet." Shikamaru pointed out.

"Here. you can't afford to sacrifice defense for speed. You need an even balance, otherwise the enemies here will have you as an easy target."

"Then what's yours make of?" Sakura asked.

"Full body chain mesh and my armor is half an inch of leather. Stops small blades and protects against physical attacks, while still allowing me to be mobile."

"He's right." Kakashi stated. "In times of war we would outfit all of our forces in armor like our Chunin vests. The only reason you Genin don't have your own vests is because we wish to have you trained properly before sending you off to war. But the lands we are venturing into will be more dangerous than anything you've faced before. It is a war zone, and we must be prepared."

"And what's wrong with what we're wearing?" Ino protested.

"Stand up for a minute." Shiekan ordered.

Ino raised her eyebrow as she stood up. Everyone got a good look at her purple two-piece outfit. Sleeveless top with a flap to hide senbon needles and shorts that hugged her legs to not get in the way while fighting or to be caught on anything.

"Thin, loosely woven fabric, light fabric mesh, cotton arm covers, leg wrappings, those will do nothing to defend against an enemy here. You might as well be standing naked in front of your opponent." Shiekan said bluntly.

Ino blushed at the statement while Kiba and a few others snickered at the thought.

"This isn't a joke." Shiekan said seriously. "That is how ill prepared you lot are for the enemies ahead."

Then he noticed something else. "Also, bright colored clothing, like red and orange will get you killed even easier."

Sakura looked away shyly while Naruto crossed his legs.

"I've tried telling that to a couple of my pupils." Kakashi commented

"Since when?" Naruto complained.

"Yeah, you never told us this." Sakura commented.

"The day I first tested you, but you probably don't remember."

The two remembered back when they had just graduated. Meeting their sensei and being delighted to learn that it was Kakashi, then groaning when they learned they would have to work with Sasuke "my clan is dead" Uchiha.

"That honestly feels like a lifetime ago." Naruto said. All the other ninjas nodded in agreement as they remembered their own first days as Genin.

"Either way, all of you need to be properly suited up. That includes you as well, Kakashi." Shiekan said.

"Very well. If it is the advice of our guide, then we shall heed it." Kakashi ordered.

"I will cover the cost. The King has given me a sizeable amount of Rupees to-"

"Wait...Rupees?" Sakura interrupted.

"Yes, Rupees." Shiekan confirmed before reaching into his wallet and pulling out a handful of gems. there were green, blue, red and purple as well as an orange one.

"Oh my God! These must be worth a fortune!" Sakura exclaimed as Ryo signs flashed in her eyes.

"In terms of your currency, a green one is worth 100, a blue one is worth 500, a red one is worth 2,000, a purple one is worth 5,000 and an orange one is worth 20,000."

Sakura drooped in disappointment. "Only 20,000 Ryo for an orange one? I'd expect these to be adorned upon the crown of some high born Lord." She stated.

"No, Rupees are a lessor quality of gem that we use as currency here. The jewels you are talking about will be given to you by the king as payment for your services." Shiekan said as he pulled out another handful of gems. These were all of the high value and rare gems such as diamonds, rubies, sapphires, emeralds and topaz.

"Wow..." Sakura said with sparkles in her eyes.

"Awesome..." Ino agreed, her eyes glittering against the gems.

"100,000 for each month served." Kakashi reminded.

"100,000?" Shiekan asked.

"Yes, that was the agreed upon payment. 100,000 Ryo a month per Shinobi." Kakashi stated.

"The king told me a different amount." Shiekan said.

"What did he tell you?" Kakashi asked.

"He told me a million per month served per shinobi."

The entire platoon of Shinobi then collectively choked on their fish breakfasts.

"Ack! One million?!" Shikamaru exclaimed as he coughed up his last bite.

"That's what he said." Shiekan confirmed.

"We'll have to clarify the payment once we get to Hyrule castle. A million a month per man is too much." Kakashi stated.

"Our king is very wealthy and generous." Shiekan commented.

"Yeah, Kakashi! Are you crazy?!" Naruto demanded. Forget nice apartment. He could buy Sakura a castle with that kind of money.

"Be that as it may, we are Shinobi of the Leaf. Not sell-swords. We have our honor and our pride in providing our services for a reasonable fee. To be paid one million Ryo per month of guard duty is too generous. Do the Knights of Hyrule kingdom make so much? It would be unfair to them and to all other Shinobi assigned to an A-ranked mission such as this."

"I'm afraid this is no longer an A rank." Shiekan informed.

The Jounin's eyes darkened. "Explain." Kakashi stated.

"Remember what I told you last night?"

"About Ganondorf? You cannot expect us to fight him. That is the job of your armies. Our job is to take over their responsibilities of guarding the royal family."

"He is leading his armies, which are too strong for the knights to fight alone."

"Then what are we doing here?" Sakura asked.

"Because each of your skills would be enough to aid the knights in battle. I'm afraid our King was not fully informed of who was leading these armies when he requested your group. This is now...what you would call, an Elite S-rank."

"That is out of the question. These are not seasoned ninjas you see before you Shiekan. These are Genin. All of them not even a year out of the Academy. The Chunin are only on their second month at most. This mission you speak of would be better suited to a team of Jounin, which we were planning on sending to you in a few months' time once our forces had recovered. But this deception might deter our Hokage and our Elders from sending those relief forces when you trick us into sending our council clan heirs to the slaughter." Kakashi stated firmly. He was getting so damn sick of his clients tricking him with jobs.

"I had nothing to do with this, I am merely your guide. If you want to question this then you will have to speak to the King directly, not me."

"You've been in contact with the King. Send a sparrow to him or whatever method you use to communicate with him and tell him that we are coming as his bodyguards and not his soldiers. If he expects us to fight his battles, then tell us now and we can send a platoon of Jounin in half a year's time. I will take these Genin home though, where they belong."

Shiekan whistled and a bird landed on his shoulder. He briefly wrote down the message on a small scroll what Kakashi requested and tied it to the bird's leg. The bird then flew away and then quickly vanished.

"The message has been sent. I do apologize for this." Shiekan said sincerely.

"Yes, and I apologize for being rude. The Leaf is in a delicate state right now and losing it most promising batch of Genin in a generation would not be acceptable to the council." Kakashi bowed.

"I understand and-" Shiekan stopped when a bird different than his own landed in front of him with the Royal crest. "That was fast... wait..." Shiekan said as he looked at the message and visibly went pale. "Dear gods..."

"What?" Naruto asked.

"The king already received my message it seems. He has requested you arrive to his chambers in 3 days. Termina has fallen and Ganondorf's armies are getting ready to attack Kakariko village next."

"We are a week from Hyrule castle. We'll never make it in time." Kakashi stated.

"I know." Shiekan said as he wrote down another message and tied it onto the bird.

Kakashi sighed. This was getting more complicated by the minute. "Do you think we have enough time to visit the town you were talking about?"

"I told the king that the fast we can get there is a week. But the town you speak of has fallen as I just said, so we'll have to make a stop at the Ordon Village. It's on the way."

"How long will that take?"

"If we leave now, we can make it there by early evening."

"Very well. You heard the man. Pack it up!" Kakashi ordered. The Genin all groaned in protest but got to work breaking down the campfire and sealing it back in luggage scrolls.

Those that weren't on KP duty ran over to their team tents to seal them away while others went to fetch the laundry and whatever miscellaneous stuff remained.

Kakashi then turned back to Shiekan. "We still need to stop for a day at Ordon village. If we are going to buy armor, then they'll need some time to practice fighting with armor before I send them into combat."

"Agreed. I have some pull with the mayor there."

"Perfect. See if you can't have the local blacksmith ready to meet us there."

"Right." Shiekan nodded before summoning another bird and writing another message.

Kakashi then got to work sealing away his own.

Meanwhile Naruto and Sakura were in the middle of sorting through all their stuff to seal away.

"Socks?" Naruto asked as he held up a pair of white thin socks meant for hiking boots. Sakura took a look at them.

"Red stripe, mine, give it here." She requested. Naruto threw her the bundle to seal away.

"Blue sandal. Size not mine." Sakura said as she held up a man's sandal.

"Mine." Naruto said as he grabbed the sandal in midair.

"Extra sleeping bag that unzips into a blanket." Sakura held up said knapsack.

"I'll take it. You've got more stuff and you need the space." Naruto offered.

Sakura handed over the blanket and Naruto stuffed it in. He looked over at the other things and picked up a pair of pink...

"Uh...not mine!" Naruto said with a blush before practically shoving them to Sakura.

"What is-EEEP!" Sakura took one look at the article of clothing and quickly snatched them, her face beet red. Why in the Hell she decided to change her underwear last night and leave it out in the open was beyond her. All the running must have tired her out to the point of delusion-ism. That was it. She thought.

"Um...m-my bad..." Sakura said with embarrassment.

"N-no worries...thanks for not hitting me for looking..." Naruto replied.

"It... was my fault anyway..."

"R-right...this toothbrush yours?" He asked as he held up a pink toothbrush to try and change the subject.

Sakura cleared her throat. "Y-yes, that's mine."

"Figures. We're both kind of predictable aren't we?" Naruto said as he reached over and picked up his orange toothbrush.

"Yea..." Sakura chuckled.

The two laughed as they kept packing their stuff away. Their pillows, their roll out mats, and their quick inflated mattress.

"Well, I think that's everything." Sakura said before she spotted one of her kunai on the floor by Naruto's knee. She went to pick it up, but as soon as she laid her hand on it, Naruto laid his hand on top of hers, trying to pick up the same knife.

They slowly looked up and stared into each other's eyes, light blushes appearing on their faces as they slowly inched forward.

"Akamaru, no!" Kiba shouted before the hyperactive white puppy came bursting inside Naruto and Sakura's tent and started jumping all over them.

 _'Damn it, not again...'_ Sakura thought.

"Ack! Get off me!" Naruto shouted as Akamaru kicked him in the face.

"Akamaru! Stop it!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Bad dog!" Kiba shouted as he dove into the tent and grabbed his canine comrade by the scruff of his neck.

"No beef jerky for you. I fed you already." Kiba lectured.

"Great, now can you leave so we can finish packing?" Naruto asked sourly.

"Yeah, sure thing sunshine." Kiba sneered. "Come on, Akamaru." Kiba said as he and his dog returned to their tent they shared with Shino and Hinata. Once they were out of sight from Team 7, Kiba slipped Akamaru a treat.

Sakura just sighed. Yet another moment ruined.

"Great. Now my shirt smells like wet dog." Naruto groaned as he peeled off his dark shirt. Revealing his bare chest with the 1st Hokage's necklace dangling off his neck and the 4 Point Reaper Death seal tattooed around his naval.

"Here let me get you a fresh one." Sakura offered before she dug through his clothes.

"Thank you." Naruto said before Sakura threw him a blue shirt with goggles designed on the front.

Sakura stole a glance at the dark seal on Naruto's chest. She remembered seeing it countless time when they swam together out by one of the waterfalls near the village. She always thought it was just a crazy tattoo Naruto had foolishly gotten when he was younger. (She was 7, alright?)

Until she turned 10 and found out what that tattoo really was. A seal. Meant to contain the most terrifying demon known to the Leaf village. The Nine Tailed Fox.

It would be 2 more years before Naruto learned the truth and another year after that before he would tell her.

All the years of abuse and neglect from the villagers finally was given an explanation. All the times they had run away from the mobs. They weren't running from people Naruto had pranked, but rather people who thought Naruto had murdered all their loved ones.

It was a terrifying thought, but one that cemented Sakura's devotion to her friend even further. He was not the Demon Fox, the same way that a cookie jar was not an actual cookie. He was her friend, and Sakura would stand by him till the end. At least that's what she told him.

Sakura narrowed her eyes as the seal disappeared beneath the shirt Naruto put on.

One day, she would free Naruto from his curse once and for all, without killing him. All she needed was the capital to hire enough Fūijutsu experts to get it done safely. And this mission with all its rewards would be the perfect start-up.

"Can... I ask you something, Sakura-chan?"

"Huh, sure thing." Sakura said.

"Well...it's about what just happened...or, what almost happened." Naruto said sheepishly.

"W-what do you want to ask me about? Or what do you mean?" Sakura asked nervously.

"Well...this has happened twice now...were we...about to...ya know..." he blushed.

"Um...I think we need to get going..." Sakura said.

Naruto sighed in dejection and nodded, feeling like a complete fool for even asking.

"Never mind then..." he said sadly.

Sakura nodded before finishing sealing away everything and then stepped outside the tent to start putting it away.

 _'Dammit...he probably thinks I don't like him like that now.'_ She thought sadly. She didn't want him to think that and she hated herself for not having the courage to admit to him the truth, but now wasn't the time.

The two of them quickly removed the plastic tent pegs and the plastic skeletal structure before folding the actual tent and the tarp up into a tight little bundle. They stuffed it into Naruto's backpack and the two of them didn't say a word as Naruto took a quick swig of his canteen before the both of them joined the group around the ashes of the campfire.

"Alright. Is everyone packed?" Kakashi asked.

They all nodded in response.

"Were all accounted for. Shiekan, lead the way. Let's move out." Kakashi ordered.

"Follow me and stick together. Neji, Hinata, be on the lookout for monsters." Shiekan ordered.

"Right." The two Hyugas barked.

* * *

After hours of dead sprinting, the group finally reached the town of Ordon at 7 PM, feeling just as exhausted as they were the night before.

"Welcome to Ordon." Shiekan said.

The group looked up at the village and stared in awe. While nowhere near as big as the Leaf, it was picture perfect. Maybe about 7 buildings in total, but that's not what made it special. The air was crisp and clean, there was a small stream that flowed through the village that was as clear as glass that pooled into a small lake, birds chirping and kids playing, all nestled beneath a small mountain.

It was beautiful.

"My God...it's like a..." Ino gasped. "Cottage postcard..."

"You'll find that many of the villages here are like that." Shiekan informed before walking off to the larger of the buildings.

"Shiekan, where do you think we could find dinner? I'm starving." Choji whined.

"That's what I'm about to find out." Shiekan called out.

The building Shiekan was approaching seemed to be the Inn, but when a very large man walked out.

"Well, if it isn't Shiekan! What are you doing so far away from the castle?" The large man greeted.

"Good to see you again, Bo. I'm actually escorting these fine folk to the castle, but we need to restock on supplies and get them properly outfitted with armor." Shiekan greeted back.

"Do they now...?" Bo said as he got a good look at these fine folk.

"They look like babes playing ninja. You giving a tour of our country to foreigners?" Bo asked.

"They are ninja's from the Village Hidden in the Leaf from Fire country, requested as bodyguards to the king." Shiekan informed.

"Good gods...Fire Country? But that's so far away, and they're so young..." Bo said in amazement.

"The Elemental Nations train their ninja at a much younger age than we do. The typical age range for a recently promoted Genin is 12-14."

"Is that so? I'd fancy to see my boys wrestle with them to test their strength. But I seem to recall you having more pressing matters." Bo laughed a hearty laugh.

"With us being here, we are a little ahead of schedule. They need a hot meal and beds to sleep in for the night. Tomorrow, they have to get properly outfitted. They are ill prepared for the dangers ahead."

"Aye. I'll have Crate keep the forges hot for tomorrow. Under the King's orders you said?"

"Correct."

"Eh, the skinny little bastard could never refuse our King. Never met the man but loves him to death." Bo laughed.

"Right." Shiekan chuckled. "Well, hook them up with some fine Ordon cooking and get them settled in."

"Me wife should be able to take care of you lot. Just talk to the woman over yander." Bo said, pointing at the busty woman attending the bar.

"Will do and... thank you. My old friend."

"Don't mention it. Oh, if you cut through the lost woods, you should show up to the castle a few days ahead of schedule."

"I was hoping to avoid that area, but time is of the essence."

"Then I'll point you lot in the right direction. In the meantime, help yourselves to the hot springs." Bo said.

"Hot springs? Ooo la la, this place is fancy." Tenten exclaimed.

"It's a divided hot spring, right?" Sakura asked.

"Divided? This isn't some fancy village." Bo stated.

"Y-you mean...we have to...bathe together...?" Sakura asked nervously.

"We all do. What's the problem? I swear, your generation is far too prudish."

"Sounds like fun times all around." Kiba smirked.

"Yosh!" Let us bath together as youthful comrades my friends!" Lee cheered.

"Caterpillar eyebrows has the right attitude." Bo smiled.

"Sounds like a good idea to me." Choji added.

"If we must..." Neji sighed.

Tenten sighed. "Well...it's only for this one time. Besides, we could ALL use a bath."

"But...they will..."

"Sakura, I think you can suck it up for one time. We all stink and need to get cleaned." Tenten pointed out.

Naruto took that as encouragement to sniff his pits and made a face like broken glass.

"Exactly my point." Tenten said.

Sakura just sighed. "Fine...but I swear if any of you guys try something, I'll castrate you with a spoon." She warned darkly.

The other boys chuckled nervously, but only Naruto actually gulped in fear.

"Y'all go ahead and get cleaned up. Me wife don't like children smelling like a corpse." Bo said as he walked off.

"Sounds good. You kids go on ahead. Me and Shiekan have a few more things to discuss." Kakashi ordered.

"Uh...okay..." Some of them responded and walked off.

The kids made their way towards the older log cabin and found to the girls' delight that they had separate changing rooms.

"Well that's a plus at least." Sakura sighed in relief.

"See you ladies on the other side." Kiba smirked as the rest of the guys pushed him inside to shut him up.

"Ugh...Kiba is such an ass." Sakura sighed as the girls walked in their changing room.

Once inside the four of them began disrobing.

"I'm surprised you mind so much, Sakura." Tenten said as she untied her hair buns.

"Why is that?" Sakura asked.

"Well, world on the street is that you and Naruto used to bathe together." Tenten smirked.

"Yea, when we were little. By the time we were 7 we stopped." Sakura clarified.

"Yea, sure." Tenten said sarcastically.

"Hey, my mom and Ino's mom used to bathe us together when Naruto wasn't around." Sakura replied.

"That's different, Forehead. We're girls." Ino countered.

"Well, regardless. Naruto and I have bathed together before and have seen what the other has, so I don't mind him as much as the other guys. Kiba is a pervert towards any girl and we all know that. Lee...he's...he's a nice guy, but there is a lot he doesn't understand. Choji I don't think cares. Shikamaru I'm sure has a perverted side-"

"At times, yes..." Ino grumbled.

"-Neji...I have no idea. I don't know them as well as Naruto, so I guess I just feel more comfortable around him." Sakura finished.

"So, am I to assume you're going to bathe next to him, then?" Tenten smirked as she wrapped a towel around herself.

"Is that bad?" Sakura asked as he grabbed her towel.

"Well I'll bathe with my brothers from time to time. More so because my family doesn't have a lot of hot water to go around. If you think of him as a brother than I've got nothing to say about it." Tenten said.

"Except she doesn't..." Hinata said bitterly.

"W-what...?" Tenten asked.

"She admitted that she's in love with him." Hinata stated before putting on her towel.

"Hinata! What the hell?!" Ino exclaimed.

Sakura just stood there and blushed, feeling betrayed by Hinata's words.

"Sakura...is that true...?" Tenten asked in awe.

Sakura nodded and held her head down. She felt so betrayed and ashamed.

"When did this happen? I mean...it's not like I didn't expect it to happen later, but...wow..."

"Ugh, does everyone expect us to get together?" Sakura groaned.

"Well, you two ain't blood relatives and you are closer to him than my parents are to each other." Tenten pointed out.

"It's only natural for people who see you two so close to assume that you two would eventually develop feelings for one another." Ino chimed in.

"Whatever..." Hinata scoffed before exiting the changing room and out to the spring.

"What's her deal?" Tenten asked.

"She loves Naruto as well." Ino stated.

"Ooooh...so, that's what that fight was about..." Tenten deduced, now understanding the whole picture.

"Seriously Hinata. You had your chance. Quit whining." Ino stated.

Hinata whipped around and glared at the Yamanaka heir. "Screw. You." She spat before walking out.

"Woah...I don't think I've ever seen her like that." Tenten stated.

"Oh she's just mad because Naruto told her that he liked girls like her." Ino said. "And she took it as a way of saying that he liked her more than just a friend. Then it's her own fault."

"Well he did make that blood oath to avenge her by defeating Neji. Maybe he does." Tenten pointed out.

"And he fulfilled that already." Ino pointed out.

"He's mad at her." Sakura chimed in.

"For what?" Ino asked.

"Because of what she called me. I told him about it last night."

"What was that?" Tenten asked.

"That I hit him for no reason, that I would kill him just to be with Sasuke."

"But you don't even like him." Tenten pointed out.

"That's what I told her."

"It's true..." Ino confirmed.

"Wow...that's...that's just messed up..." Tenten said.

"Can we just drop it please? I'm tired of smelling like a garbage pit." Sakura begged

"Sure thing." Ino said before leading the girls out into the hot springs, their top halves covered in white towels.

The hot springs they saw wasn't particularly big or luxurious, but after spending a week traveling through every kind of climate, it was a welcome sight indeed. The only thing ruining it was the seven boys all splashing around.

"Well, this isn't so bad." Sakura sighed before making her way into the water. "HO! Damn that's hot!" She hissed.

"The price for beauty." Ino said as she sunk her entire body into the water quickly.

"Ho Ho ho... sssssss..." She hissed.

"OOH! God damn..." Tenten hissed. This was hotter than the hot springs at home.

"Cannonball!" Naruto and Choji shouted as they both dove into the water, causing a great splash.

All the girls screamed, except for Sakura. She was actually laughing at their actions.

"CHOJI! THE HELL!" Ino protested.

"Oh liven up a bit, Ino. That was funny." Sakura giggled as Naruto swam up to her.

"Yea, you would think it's funny..." Ino grumbled.

"Yeah, I would." Sakura said as Naruto swam up to Sakura, his entire body submerged, save for his nose.

"Uh oh...WAAAH!" Sakura shrieked before Naruto grabbed her legs and pulled her under. She immediately resurfaced, laughing the whole time as she and Naruto splashed each other.

"Crocodile attack!" Naruto shouted as he grabbed Sakura by the waist and threw her into the water.

"Those two are meant for each other." Ino laughed as she shook her head.

Naruto suddenly disappeared under the water and Sakura resurfaced.

"You didn't kill him, did you?" Tenten called out.

"What? No, of course not. We do this all the time when we go swimming." Sakura laughed.

"GOTCHA!" Naruto shouted as he pounced on Sakura, bringing her down into the water again.

They quickly resurfaced, but this time Sakura had Naruto in a headlock.

"Alligator attack!" Sakura shouted.

"ACK! I give! I give!" Naruto hollered.

"You whimp." Sakura snickered as she slit his throat with a blade made of air. Naruto slumped onto his knees and fell face first into the water.

"Ack! Naruto!" Ino panicked.

"Relax, Pig. I didn't kill him, it's just a game we play."

"Seriously Ino. You didn't notice the lack of blood?" Tenten teased.

"Um..." Ino said sheepishly.

"Wow Ino." Shikamaru teased.

"Oh hush." Ino blushed.

"Um guys...? Naruto still isn't moving." Choji pointed out.

Everyone's eyes turned to the floating blond that didn't appear to be breathing.

"Watch and learn." Sakura said before tickling his sides and he shot up and started flailing about and laughing.

"There see. He's fine." Sakura said as Naruto started floating on his back.

He spit out his mouthful of water like a fountain. "Aww, Sakura-chan. You ruined it." He whined.

"Sorry, but they were getting scared." Sakura teased the others.

"We were not." Kiba stated.

"Yes you were." Tenten smirked.

"Haha..." Naruto chuckled before a thought occurred to him.

"Hey Sakura-chan. You need me to wash your back?" He said shockingly.

"Wha-Naruto!" She shrieked in embarrassment.

"What? We used to do that a lot in the river."

"We did that when we were 7! We're 13 now!" Sakura said.

"So?"

"It's not appropriate now..."

"But you asked me to do it when we were in the Forest of Death during the 2nd Chunin exams." He said simply.

The other's jaws dropped and she lit up like a Christmas tree.

"I told you that was to be kept secret you ass..." She growled.

"I thought just from Sasuke..."

"From everyone you idiot! Thanks to you, it's out in the open now. Good going."

"Geez, sorry." He said as he stood back up to let Sakura and the other girls notice something else unexpected.

"WHY ARE YOU NAKED!?" Sakura screamed as she cover her face, but not her left eye.

"It's a bath!" He defended.

Sakura looked at the other guys and saw they weren't wearing towels either, just the girls. "Shit..."

"Well at least we get a decent view out of this." Ino said as she eyed up Naruto and Neji.

"Oh come on, this isn't fair." Choji protested.

"Yea, we're not in towels." Kiba added.

"Well we have something worth hiding." Tenten said firmly.

"And we don't?" Kiba defended.

"Not that I've seen." Ino stated.

"Why you!"

"Kiba, just stop." Neji ordered.

"They are just trying to get a rise out of you. Why? Because it is amusing, and you make it so easy." Shino said.

"Well, I've really got nothing to hide but I don't feel like taking it off." Sakura stated.

"No one wants to see your billboard chest anyway, Forehead." Ino teased.

"Piss off, Pig! At least mine are natural!" Sakura shot back.

"Natural?! Why you..." Ino exclaimed as she charged after Sakura. Ino was moving too fast for her and she slipped when she tried to back up. The two girls fell on top one another and disappeared into the water.

"Looks like we get a show now." Kiba smirked.

"Shut up." Naruto snapped.

"Oh, you want some too, Whiskers?" Kiba asked.

"I said shut up." Naruto ordered firmly.

"Make me." Kiba smirked as he stood atop the hot springs water.

"I don't make dogs, I walk them." Naruto smirked.

"GET OFF ME!" Sakura exclaimed as she tossed Ino away.

"What?" Kiba said. He got the pun, but it still sounded lame.

"TAKE IT BACK!" Ino screeched as she splashed Sakura.

"I don't need to!" Sakura held up Ino's towel that got snagged in her hand.

Everyone could see her now. In reality, her chest was only slightly bigger than Sakura's.

"My, my...so you do stuff your bra." Sakura smirked.

"BITCH!" Ino screamed as she lunged at Sakura again, knocking her into the water.

Ino ripped Sakura's towel away before she could stand up. When she did, everyone could see just how flat she was.

"Like I said, billboard chest." Ino smirked.

"So what? At least I don't try to make them look bigger." Sakura shot back before making her way to be next to Naruto.

"Hey I'm not done!" Ino shot.

"Well I am. I've proved my point and you proved yours. I came in here to get clean then eat, not compare boob sizes. So, I'm done." Sakura stated firmly before grabbing a bar of soap.

"If you don't shut your mouth I'll kick your ass, Kiba!" Naruto shouted to his own opponent.

"Naruto, just leave it alone." Sakura said as she put a hand on his arm.

"But he..." Naruto said before seeing Sakura sapped him off his will to fight.

"Oh sure. She tells him not to fight after she pulls my hair out." Ino grumbled.

Sakura ignored Ino and handed Naruto the bar of soap. "Since everyone knows now, you might as well wash my back."

"Sure. No skin off my bones." Naruto said as he grabbed the bar and started lathering up his hands.

"I've got a twinge in my lower back. Think you can get that out?" Sakura asked as she sat on a rock.

"No problem. Would her highness like her shoulders massaged too?" Naruto asked.

"Ha ha...yes please."

Naruto grunted before pressing his soapy palms against Sakura's back muscles. His hands were small but tough from all his ninja training over the years. Sakura could feel them as they glided over her sore back muscles. Sliding up, then down, then up again. Working the knot out of her lower back before moving on up to her shoulders.

"Ooohh...that's better..." Sakura sighed in relief.

Ino and Tenten and all the other shinobi were astounded at these two. To have one of them give the other a massage in front of all their friends was bold.

"Hey Naruto, when you're done, can I get a massage?" Tenten asked.

Sakura and Naruto stopped and looked at one another before looking at Tenten.

"If...you want to, that is..." Tenten said sheepishly.

"Yeah sure, no problem." Naruto said politely.

Sakura gave Tenten a look that said "A massage and nothing else."

Tenten nervously nodded, making it known that she wasn't trying to take Naruto away from her.

Sakura smiled. "Go for it, Naruto, I can take over from here."

"Alright Sakura-chan." Naruto said as he got up to give Tenten the same treatment with his magic hands.

"One second." Tenten said before removing her towel and sitting on a rock. "Go for it."

 _'Even Tenten is bigger than me? What the hell?'_ Sakura thought jealously before begging to wash her front.

Feeling insanely envious of Naruto, the guys begrudgingly began washing themselves.

"Hey Naruto. Can I go next?" Ino asked innocently.

"No." Sakura said firmly.

"Can... I do it...?" Choji asked shyly.

Ino just looked at Choji with curiosity, more for his boldness than for the request.

"Well I was asking Naruto, but apparently Sakura wants to keep him all for herself. So yeah. Sure thing Choji." Ino stated.

Choji's face lit up like a thousand-watt bulb and quickly made his way to Ino.

"Nothing below the waist." Ino sang in a threatening voice.

"Right, I know." Choji replied before lathering up his hands and got to work getting the knots out of her back.

 **Crack**

"Aaaahhh...that's the ticket..." Tenten sighed in relief.

"Oh man...you are like a pretzel, Tenten." Naruto said.

"Ugh...try Guy-sensei's...oh right there...training sometime..."

"Why are you so tense, Ino?" Choji asked.

"Oh man...you should be too after all that running..."

 **Crack**

"Uuuuuhhh...much better..." Ino sighed.

Now Hinata was feeling left out. Her back felt like she got hit by a bus and the other girls were being pampered with a soapy massage.

She wasn't gonna let that stand.

"Um...Kiba? C-could...you...do that...for me...?" She asked timidly.

"Hmmm, sure thing Princess." He said as he left Akamaru to doggy paddle around the pool.

"Please don't call me that..."

"Never had a problem with it before."

"I'm...just nervous is all..."

"Don't worry Princess." He whispered. "I'll take good care of you."

Hinata blushed and nodded. She untied her towel and set it aside.

Now the girls were jealous of her.

 _'What?! She's 13 and she's 3 times my size!'_ Ino exclaimed in thought.

"Oh that's right. You're big for your age, right?" Kiba said nonchalantly. "You wear a wrap so often I keep forgetting."

"K-Kiba...please don't stare at them..." Hinata blushed heavily.

"Yes Kiba. Keep your eyes to yourself." Neji growled as his Byakugan flared.

"Oh keep your panties on. She's like a sister to me." Kiba said as he massaged Hinata's shoulders, earning an embarrassed moan from the girl.

"Oh that feels good..." Hinata moaned. She was starting to feel less embarrassed and more relaxed.

"Did...I miss anything?" Came a voice from the doorway. Everyone turned and saw that it was Kakashi and Shiekan.

"Really?" Ino asked when she noticed that Kakashi was wearing a towel on his face to cover where his mask should be.

"What?" Kakashi asked.

"Nothing." Ino said.

"Yea, he does that all the time." Naruto commented.

"Do what all the time?" Kakashi asked innocently as he slipped into the pool. "Aaaahhh..."

"The towel over your face." Sakura added as she lathered up her hair.

"Oh this?" He asked while pointing towards his face. "I simply washed my face inside and now I'm letting it dry."

"Uh huh...sure..." Sakura deadpanned.

"Well I see you kids aren't as prudish as Bo thought." Shiekan said as he too slipped into the water.

"It took a little bit, but we got past it." Ino stated.

"Good to hear." Kakashi said as he got right to scrubbing himself.

"Yes, for you see, a lot of the baths and hot springs in Hyrule are...I believe the term is, co-ed." "Shiekan informed.

"Oh, well then I guess this was a good thing then." Sakura shrugged before she climbed back into the water to rinse off.

"And that should do it, Tenten." Naruto said.

Tenten moved around for a moment. "Oh yea, that feels a lot better. Thanks."

"Anytime." Naruto smiled.

Tenten smiled before going to work washing the rest of her.

"Oh man...I never knew you were good at this." Ino sighed in relief when Choji finished.

 _'Don't say that you learned it by massaging your mom. Don't say that you learned how by massaging your mom. Don't say...'_ Choji repeated in his head.

"I can read your mind, Choji." Ino stated.

 _'Shit! I didn't think of that!'_ He thought.

"I think it's sweet you'd do something like that for her." Ino smiled.

"Do what for whom?" Lee asked.

"Never you mind." Ino said.

"Y-you really think so...?" Choji asked.

Ino turned around and smiled. "I think it's a very sweet thing."

"Oh slay me..." Shikamaru groaned as he had to listen to this.

"I think its sweet." Sakura countered before dipping her head in the water.

"It's troublesome. Teammates starting relationships has always been a historically bad thing." Shikamaru pointed out.

Sakura stopped dead in her tracks and felt a sudden wash of dread overcome her. "What do you mean?"

"What do you mean, what do I mean? You've all heard the stories about teammates forming relationships and it screwing up their teamwork, distracts them during missions, and even tears teams apart if their relationship ever sours." The Nara heir explained.

Sakura felt her heart wrench out of her chest. Here she was, crushing on the boy, no, man she has known since her childhood and now this bit of information was making her feel like this was all a mistake. Like her love for Naruto was forbidden.

"Actually, that's not entirely accurate." Kakashi chimed in. "There are some instances of couples making it work. Take Asuma and Kurenai for example. They were on the same Genin team and they made it work." He pointed out.

"Wait a minute, what?" Sakura asked in astonishment.

"You didn't know that?" Kakashi asked.

"Can't say that I did."

"Well, they were able to balance relationship with work. While on the job, they learned to work and act like a team. Off duty, they are a happy couple. It can work, if you know how."

Sakura was now filled with renewed hope that maybe she and Naruto can make it work, but she would need to build up the courage to confess to him.

"Then again. They beat the odds at about 1 in 10 with my experience." Kakashi added.

"1...in 10...?" Sakura asked sadly, which Kakashi picked up on.

"What do you care?" Shikamaru asked.

Sakura didn't respond, she just looked at the suds in the water.

"You're better off not getting with him anyway." Shikamaru said.

Sakura snapped her head up and glared at Shikamaru. "How would you know? You didn't watch him get slaughtered in a back alley way nearly on the daily basis over ignorant villagers who don't know any better about what he is or what he's done. You never had to watch him cower in fear because he was always afraid of the next time he was gonna get beaten. My mom all but adopted him and we spent the last 7 years together, raised almost like brother and sister and now I feel something more for him. How dare you say that." She hissed.

"And that's exactly why I'm saying you're both better off not getting together." Shikamaru clarified.

"But it's not your say, Shikamaru. How would you feel if you fell for someone and she told you that you'd be better off without her?" Kakashi stated.

"You're both missing the point. Have you ever thought about what losing you would do to Naruto?" Shikamaru asked.

"I'm not worried about that. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." Sakura stated firmly.

"Then you're a greater fool than I thought. Do you actually know what you mean to Naruto? Like I actually have parents and teammates that I've grown up with, but I don't have anything like you, Sakura."

"And he means just as much to me as I do to him. If you think he will be bad if something happens to me, you don't wanna know what I..." Sakura broke down at the mere thought of it.

"Shikamaru, that's enough." Kakashi ordered.

"I'm not worried about him turning bad. I'm worried about 'him' escaping." Shikamaru said.

"And we'll deal with that, if it happens. It makes no sense to dwell on what could be when it may never even happen at all." Kakashi stated firmly.

"I think by then it'll be too late, but I guess I'm the only one thinking that far ahead."

"No, Shikamaru. The leaf has always had a plan placed in effect should something like that happen. We were caught with our pants down once; we won't be a second time."

"And you're prepared to carry out that plan while we are a thousand miles from the Leaf?" Shikamaru asked, shutting up the Jounin. "I'm not against the idea of you two getting together. No one else deserves it more. I just want to make sure you are aware of the consequences before they become our problem." Shikamaru said before swimming away.

"Kakashi-sensei...am I... wrong, for the way I feel about him...?" Sakura choked out.

"No Sakura, you're not wrong for loving him. You just have to be smart in 'how' you love him." Kakashi stated. "As blunt as it sounds, Shikamaru has a point. If Naruto dates someone and loses them, he still has you. If he loses you, he loses everything. Whole villages have been lost because their Jinchuriki didn't have anyone, Sakura."

"So... what would I have to do?"

Kakashi sighed. "I don't know Sakura. That is something you have to decide for yourself. Whether to be THE most important person in his life, or to be his second. Things would be safer for us if you were his second, but more beautiful for you if you were his first."

Then she thought about something. "Actually, I'm not all he has."

Kakashi stood up to stretch his back.

"I'm not saying you are, but you know as well as I do that the rest of us don't count as much as you do."

Sakura's face fell.

"Think about this over the next week of travel. Before you decide. I need you both ready for action once we make it to Hyrule castle." Kakashi said before getting out of the pool.

"By the way everyone! Dinner will be ready in five minutes!" Kakashi called out.

"Awesome! I'm starving!" Choji perked up as he and several others dove in to rinse off.

"Bo has taken the liberty to gather your clothes and wash them. He left robes for all of us in the changing area." Shiekan announced.

Fast as they could, the genin all piled out of the hot springs bath into the changing room and then back out into the inn's dining hall. Where nothing sort of a lavish feast was waiting for them.

"Oh yes!" Choji drooled.

They had roasted turkey and chicken, spiced pudding, fresh bread baked that day, country gravy, mashed potatoes with butter, corn on the cob, and pitchers of lemonade and iced tea.

"...pinch me I'm dreaming..." Sakura said in awe.

Naruto then pinched her on the arm.

"Ow! Ass..."

"No Sakura-chan, that was your arm." Naruto laughed.

"Funny, smartass." Sakura fake pouted.

Naruto smirked that foxy smirk of his and took a step towards one of the chairs, only to be blindsided by Sakura punching him upside the head.

"Oh I'm sorry, was that your head?" She asked.

"Ow! Alright...I deserved that..." Naruto said as he rubbed his head.

Sakura smirked as she took her seat next to where Naruto was going to take his.

Hinata saw this and actually agreed with Sakura that Naruto had deserved that hit. What was more astonishing to her, is that he took it as a joke.

"See? That wasn't for no reason now was it?" Ino whispered into Hinata's ear.

Hinata sighed. "No... I guess not..."

"Don't you think you should apologize to Sakura about what you said?" Ino added.

"I'll think about it..." Hinata said as she took a spoon full of pudding.

Ino frowned a bit, but at least it was better than nothing.

Hinata had to think about this. Every time she had witnessed Sakura hitting him, they both laughed about it afterwards, except for the times where she was mad about something he did. Even she had to admit she would have done the same in some of those cases.

 _'It's never easy to admit you are wrong, I suppose.'_ Ino thought as she buttered her bread. Her diet be damned, she was starving and any more running would turn her anorexic.

 _'I've been mistaken after all...'_ Hinata thought.

"No ramen?" Naruto asked.

"Naruto-kun, I doubt they would have-"

"Oh right, I left it in the kitchen." Bo said before getting up to fetch it.

Naruto and Sakura looked at each other and shrugged. "Who knew?" They both said.

Moments later, Bo reappeared with a pot of piping hot ramen, the likes of which Naruto had never seen or smelled.

"Give this a try, youngins. Hyrule's famous Teriyaki Chicken Ramen." Bo smiled.

"Alright! Now we're talkin'!" Naruto drooled.

"Nice." Sakura said eagerly. She had spent just as much time eating Ramen as Naruto had, mainly because she always ate there with him anytime he went there.

 _'Those two are like two peas in a pod...I swear...'_ Ino thought.

Naruto took the first bite and his face lit up like a thousand-watt bulb.

"Oh my god. Sakura are you tasting this?" He asked.

"Damn! This is better than Ichiraku's!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Ichiraku's?" Bo asked, then he remembered something and laughed. "You mean Teuchi's place? Man, I haven't seen him in forever!"

"Sakura!" Naruto shouted. "That's sacrilegious!"

"Hold on a minute." Sakura said before turning to Bo. "You know Teuchi?"

"How wouldn't I? We were both trained by the same master, who was my father." Bo smirked.

Sakura and Naruto both went wide eyed. "Awesome..."

"Huh...small world..." Kakashi mused.

"Teuchi used to live here in Ordon a long time ago. Didn't he ever tell you that?" Bo asked.

"No! He never told us that!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Then again, we never asked." Sakura added.

"Well, now you know. Let me guess. He's still famous for his Miso Pork?"

"Yea, it's the only one Naruto and I ever eat." Sakura said before slurping up more ramen.

"That figures. My father titled him as the Miso Master, while I was titled the Teriyaki Master and even gifted the secret recipe to the most coveted ramen ever... the Hyrule special."

A gleam came to Naruto's and Sakura's eyes. "The what now?" They asked.

"It is only served to the Royal family once a year. It is a recipe so sacred, so closely guarded that only those worthy of keeping it are labeled as the guardians of this dish. No mere soul outside of the royal family, aside from the chef who makes it, is even allowed to taste it." Bo said seriously.

"Woah..." Naruto and Sakura said in awe.

"Oh brother..." Ino sweat dropped.

"Sakura, we've got to get our hands on that ramen." Naruto said like they were planning another heist.

"I'm afraid not, youngins." Bo denied.

"Why not?" Naruto whined.

"As I said, it's only available to members of the Royal Family. So, unless you have proof telling me otherwise, you cannot have it." Bo said seriously.

"We don't have any proof. But we do have some experience sneaking around." Naruto said.

Sakura got her brain gears turning. She remembered something about the Royal Family. They were the rulers of Hyrule, identified by the crest of the...

"Wait!" Sakura spoke up before lifting her right hand and showing the seal that was glowing ever so slightly. "What about this?"

Bo went wide eyed when he saw the seal on Sakura's hand, and then the same on Naruto's, glowing dimly with one triangle brighter than the others in different spots.

 _'The mark of the Triforce champions...the ones chosen by the gods...'_ Bo thought in awe.

"U-uh...w-w-wait here!" Bo said quickly before dashing off.

"Hey Bo." Kakashi said, cutting the man off. Bo looked at Kakashi and only saw a red spinning eye. Bo blinked and turned back to the group.

"I'll return with that kidney pie shortly." He said before disappearing into the kitchen.

Kakashi then walked over to where Naruto and Sakura were sitting and picked them both up like kittens.

"Excuse us." He said as he led the both of them up into their room and shut the door behind them.

"What the Hell were you two thinking?" Kakashi snapped.

"It's the greatest Ramen in the world! How could we not?" Naruto protested.

"So you just go flashing those seals on your arms about like that to anybody? Would you flash 'that seal' around if it meant getting you a free meal?" Kakashi sternly lectured as he pointed to the seal hidden underneath Naruto's shirt.

Naruto scowled and looked down, remembering his past as a whole when the villagers tortured him. "If it meant the respect of others and a meal to feed my empty stomach from living on the streets, yes..."

"Don't try to smartass your way out of this. Never mind what any random stranger might do if they saw a couple of foreign ninjas waving around the symbol to their country and the royal family on their hands. Think about what our enemies would do if they got word of that? You two are supposed to be ninjas. Stop being stupid and act like it. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sensei..." Sakura said shamefully.

"Sakura you were always the brains of your duo. I expected better from you. Naruto, you're a Chunin now. You're expected to be more mature and thoughtful of your actions." Kakashi reminded them as he placed his hand on the door handle. "The next time I see either of you showing those seals to anyone you do not COMPLETELY trust, I'll bind your wrapping with a seal you'll never get off." Kakashi finished as he left the room to return to the dinner hall.

Sakura sighed. "I guess that wasn't the best idea..."

"Yeah... I'm sorry. I got overly excited as usual..."

"No...it was my idea to show the seals..."

"I was the one who suggested we steal a bowl from the royal family."

"Yea, that wouldn't have been smart either. Guaranteed execution there."

"No more dangerous than stealing the deserts off the table of the Fire Daimyo that one time though." Naruto chuckled to himself.

"Oh god, I almost forgot about that." Sakura laughed.

"Was it the slice of chocolate cake or the chocolate eclair that nearly got us caught?" Naruto wondered. That whole thing kind of blurred together.

"Um...I think it was the cake. You know how I love chocolate."

"I do. It was the only reason I gave in when you said you wanted to go back for more. Old Man Hokage had already spotted us and the Daimyo's guards would surly grow wise if we went back for a third run. I knew this, but you used those puppy dog eyes on me." Naruto remembered

"Oh is that all it takes?" Sakura smirked.

"Hey, I'm much harder to manipulate now than when I was 8." Naruto said.

"Oh really? Even when I asked you to sneak a bowl of ramen to me when mom grounded me a year ago?"

"That was different. Nobody should be denied the heavenly delicacy. That would be just too cruel of a punishment." Naruto stated matter-of-factly.

"What about when I asked you to get me my...um...y-you know...when aunt Flo comes..."

Naruto blushed madly when he remembered that. "Please don't remind me..."

"But it was very sweet for you to do that for me..."

"Well it was... you know... the gentlemanly thing to do. I think your mom called it." Naruto said.

"And it was..." Sakura whispered as her head drew it closer. "Very much so..."

"Yea, I wish you said that instead of punching me in the face for buying the wrong ones."

Sakura chuckled nervously. "Yea, sorry about that. Mood swings..."

"I know a way you can make it up to me..." Naruto whispered as he drew in closer.

"What's that...?" Sakura whispered.

"I think you know what..."

"Naruto..."

Their lips were mere centimeters from touching, they could feel each other's breath they were so close.

"Hey you guys coming or..." Tenten popped in when she saw them rapidly pull back. "Oh...s-shit, I'm sorry...I didn't mean to interrupt."

 _'God dammit...'_ They both thought. That was the 3rd time.

"It's fine..." Sakura sighed in disappointment.

Tenten nodded and disappeared back down the hallway.

"Come on..." Naruto said as he forced himself to stand. "That kidney pie sounded pretty good."

"Alright..." Sakura sighed before standing up.

* * *

They rejoined the others and within a few hours they returned to their rooms.

"Goodnight, Sakura-chan." Naruto yawned as he entered the room right next to hers.

"Goodnight, Naruto-kun." She said as she watched his door close. She then slipped into her own room. A glorified closet with a single bed and a cupboard for her things, which was being used as a table for her backpack.

Sakura sighed as she plopped down flat on her face. She couldn't sleep, she had too much to think about.

Going the next step with Naruto...

There were risks. Serious risks. Many because they were teammates and more important ones because he was the Nine Tails Jinchuriki. His life was not his own. As much as they both tried to deny it to themselves, he was a weapon of the state. That's how he would always be treated by their so called leaders. It made Sakura funding a massive group of seal masters all the more urgent, but ignoring that for now...

Could she really be responsible for sending Naruto spiraling over the deep end should they ever go further in their relationship AND he would lose her? Risk the Kyuubi breaking free again? The same one that took the lives of 20,000 civilians and shinobi before the 4th Hokage could sacrifice himself to seal it away? Wouldn't the rest of the world be better off if Sakura simply remained as an emotional safety net for Naruto? To let him branch out to find other love and catch him as a sister whenever he would fall?

...

No...

Sakura stood up and walked out of the room to Naruto's room. She knocked twice.

"Naruto...?"

A sleepy Naruto opened the door. "Can't sleep either?" He asked.

"Didn't really try but...can I sleep with you?"

"Of course you can, come on in." Naruto said as he let Sakura in.

"I... Also want to talk to you about something..." Sakura said nervously.

"Sure thing Sakura-chan. What about?" Naruto asked at he patted his bed, inviting Sakura to sit down next to him. An offer she nervously but graciously accepted.

She had so much to tell and so much she wanted to say. The only question was how to tell him.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked when she didn't respond.

Sakura looked up at his dopey and innocent face that never failed to brighten her day. Those golden spiky locks of his, the adorable whisker marks of his, his blue eyes that seemed to change to different shades of blue depending on his mood. From sky, to the ocean, to sapphires. Blue met green and Sakura was equal parts nervous and at ease.

"Sakura-chan..." He whispered.

Sakura decided then. There were no words that were adequate. None that would mean more to Naruto than actions. That was their shtick. He was the man of action and she was one who thought out their plans of the duo. Brains and brawn.

Mind and body.

Heaven and Earth.

She leaned forward and kissed him. Not on the cheek, or the forehead or the neck, on the lips.

Full on the lips.

With her arm quickly snaked around his neck to ensure that he could not escape.

She would not let him escape. She would keep him. Now and forever. He was hers and she was his.

Once his tongue started vying for entrance into her mouth, she knew that he got the message.

After a few moments, they had to pull away to let air into their bodies.

"I love you, Naruto-kun..." Sakura smiled softly, a blush adorning her face.

"And I love you, Sakura-chan..." He smiled before diving back in to her delicious lips. Sweeter than any treat and tastier than ramen. He decided.

 **Author's Note from Panda: And scene!**

 **Gotta love it when we can pump chapters out like this. It really helps when these stories are freshest in our minds.**

 **As always, please remember to review to tell us what you think and how to improve, and to follow and favorite us. See you next time.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note from Panda: Sorry about the wait, had to play catch up on several other stories and schooling for me started up again. But anyway, please be sure to review, favorite, and follow to let us know how we are doing. Constructive criticism is always welcome, as are compliments.**

* * *

The next morning, Sakura woke up in Naruto's strong arms, who was already awake and watching her sleep. She looked into his eyes, matching the soft smile he had on his face.

"Good morning my sunshine..." Sakura said softly.

"Good morning, my cherry blossom..." Naruto replied, earning a giggle.

"You haven't called me that since we were 8 years old." She smiled.

"Well I know we aren't 'pretending' to be husband and wife while playing house, but I think I can still reuse the nickname." Naruto said.

"No complaints here." She said as she nuzzled his chest.

Naruto smiled as he held her close. His dreams were finally coming true. Then a thought occurred to him.

"So how are we going to break the news to everybody?" He asked, dreading all the teasing he could expect from their friends and the solemn looks they would get from Hinata.

"Actually...I was thinking of having us keep our relationship a secret for now..." Sakura admitted.

"A secret?" Naruto asked.

"Yea... they don't need to know our business anyway. We can tell them when we get settled into the castle."

"Is that the only reason you want to keep it a secret...?" He asked condescendingly. Earning him a flick on the nose.

"The next time that you imply that I'm ashamed of dating you I'll cave your nose into your skull. I'd trumpet this news on the rooftops just to keep the girls off you once and for all. No, this is our way of showing that we can act like ninjas by keeping our own secrets, AND we can act professionally while on the job. Proving to them and ourselves that we can be the 1 out of 10 couple." Sakura said.

"I'm...I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. Wait, 1 in 10? Where did that come from?"

"Some dumb statistic that does matter because we're going to beat it." Sakura hastily explained.

"That'll show that statistic whose boss." Naruto stated.

"Exactly, now kiss me Baka." Sakura ordered.

"Yes, ma'am." He said as he gave her a long peck on the lips.

"But wait, I outrank you. I should be ordering you to kiss me." He realized.

"Oh, yes sir. How would you like it? Gentle lip contact or tongue?" Sakura giggled.

"Rough." He smirked.

"Yes sir." She giggled before smashing her lips against his, her tongue diving into his mouth where they wrestled for dominance.

 **KNOCK KNOCK!**

"Sakura! Quit making out with Naruto!" Ino jokingly shouted from the other side of the door. "We've got a meeting downstairs in five minutes!" Ino said before skipping down the steps. Sakura giggled before pulling away, their lips making an audible pop.

Ino stopped when she heard that. She knew from hearing her parents exactly what that sound was.

"We'll be down soon, Ino. And don't tell anyone." Sakura said from behind Naruto's door.

"W-what...?" Ino gasped out. "No way, you actually did it? I'm so proud of you Forehead!" Ino squealed.

"I'll tell you all about it in private. Just promise that you won't tell anybody else." Sakura repeated.

"And why would I do that?" Ino asked. This was prime A gossip. Why would she, the gossip queen of the Leaf, hold back from telling everyone?

"Because I have your dream journal memorized. Or at least pages 103 to 137. You know...the diaper phase..." Sakura replied.

"ACK! You wouldn't!"

"I won't have to do anything if you keep your end of the bargain." Sakura stated.

"Oh...fine...but you better give me every single detail, Billboard Brow." Ino stated before heading down stairs.

Inside their room, Sakura smirked. "That will shut her up for a while."

"Diaper phase?" Naruto asked.

"You know what it is." Sakura reminded him.

"Think she'll keep her word?" Naruto asked.

"I think I'll have to remind her a few times today, but that should buy us a week if we make it through today." Sakura said as she nuzzled closer.

"Well, we do have to get up for that meeting."

Sakura sighed. "I know...I just don't want to leave my warm pillow."

"Neither do I. It smells sweet. Like strawberries." He said. Sakura giggled

"But everyone will get suspicious. And you threatening Ino will be all for nothing." Naruto said as he forced himself to stand up.

Sakura did the same and the two ended up standing side by side. Sakura looked over and could stop herself from giggling.

"What's so funny?" Naruto asked.

"Nothing." Sakura replied. "I just always imagined that my first boyfriend would be taller than me." She teased.

"Haha..." Naruto fake pouted.

Sakura looked straight over at Naruto and saw his headband. She technically had only 2 inches on Naruto, but she'd be damned if she didn't rub those 2 inches in his face whenever he got "macho."

"Oh don't worry, Baka. I still love you. Even if you are a midget." She said as she kissed him on the cheek.

That kiss alone was enough to make Naruto forget about his negative emotions and feel love and joy permeate his being.

"Come on, let's get dressed and head down...oh wait...our clothes are being washed."

"They've gotta be done by now." Naruto said.

"True, they're probably waiting for us down stairs so let's go."

"Wait a minute." Naruto said.

"Wha-" She was cut off when he stole her lips again, getting a brief, but intimate kiss before parting again.

"Just wanted one more before we go down."

Sakura giggled. "No problems here. Come on, lover boy, we got a meeting to attend to."

The two of them held hands as they walked down the hallway and only parted when they reached the steps.

Once at the bottom the steps they were hit with the smell of another feast meant to be their breakfast.

"Oh man...that smells so good..." Sakura all but drooled.

"Hey there you two are!" Ino called out. "Come on, it's getting cold."

Naruto and Sakura sat down at their chairs and we're overwhelmed by the spread laid out before them.

Hash browns, sausage, scrambled and sunny side eggs with diced peppers and onions baked into some of them, baked beans, crispy bacon, buttered toast with sides of jelly, stacks of pancakes laid next to jars of syrup with fresh blueberries and strawberries nearby, more country gravy with fluffy biscuits, all with pitchers of orange juice and a few pots of coffee.

"Hot damn...I don't think I ever want to leave." Sakura said in awe.

"Get your fill. We've got to get you all fitted for armor after this. That should give plenty of time for your stomachs to settle for the day of training we have planned." Shiekan called out.

"Right." They all called out before chowing down.

* * *

After about an hour, they all finished their meals and made their way to the blacksmith, who was already working hard on making various weapons for potential buyers. Tenten immediately started bouncing around the shop, gawking at all the weapons that Hyrule uses vs what she is used to.

"Geez...these swords are huge..." Sakura said in awe as she looked at a large, two-handed sword.

"Yes they are." The blacksmith said as he came to greet them. "Y'all must be the ninja's from the Leaf I was told about."

"Correct." Kakashi greeted. "Kakashi Hatake."

"Rusl. I'm the blacksmith's apprentice, but I made all of those swords." Rusl said.

"Ooh! Can I try one!?" Tenten begged with sparkles in her eyes.

Rusl looked at Tenten and could see her enthusiasm for the finer things in weapons. "I have something perfect for ya, not even on the market yet." Rusl said as he reached behind the counter and took out a box. Inside it, was a short sword that looked to have two separate blades that were joined together. One side was half of a normal blade, while the other side extended out further that had a super sharp edge. "This is the Razor sword. Sharp enough to cut through even the toughest metal. Forged with 4000 folds of steal and tungsten."

Tenten started to drool as she picked up the sword with one hand. "It's so light..."

"But strong. Earlier prototypes used to break, but this one wont." Rusl promised.

Tenten tested the tang of the blade, perfectly balanced. She got a firm grip on the hilt and swung it a few times, feeling its weight and its speed. "I gotta have this."

That was when the Blacksmith himself came out with a smile on his face. "You seem to have an appreciation for quality crafted weapons young lady."

"Of course! My dad has a weapons shop in the Leaf Village where I help sell and organize the merchandise. I gotta know everything about them. Weapons are my passion and I would love to have this sword."

"I see..." The blacksmith was deep in thought, looking between the sword and Tenten's pleading look. "Tell you what. You get the message out about our blacksmith, even down to the Elemental Nations, let everyone know who asks about that sword and point them our way and as a gift, you can have that sword, free of charge." He smiled.

If anyone thought that nobody could smile bigger than Naruto when offered ramen, they hadn't seen Tenten's face light up after being told she could have an amazing new weapon for free.

 _'Oh no...'_ Lee and Neji thought as they clamped their ears shut and Tenten drew a huge breath of air.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" She shrieked in joy.

The blacksmiths had to clean out their ears after that one. "Right then..."

"I think my ears are ringing..." Sakura groaned.

"Ugh...right then." Rusl said as he took out a black scabbard and belt. "These go along with it. May this sword protect you on your journey."

"Thank you so much." Tenten smiled as she accepted the gifts. She looked so cute that Rusl couldn't help but look away and blush.

"Now then, let's get you lot fitted for armor." The head smithy said and summoned them to the back of the shop.

* * *

About 3 hours later, the group emerged with more suitable clothing and armor that seemed light yet strong.

"This actually feels pretty good." Sakura said. She wore her usual red karate dress with the black spandex leggings, only now she had on leather armor for her chest that was light and easy to move with steel shoulder pads and arm guards that had leather padding for comfort. She had similar armor plating along her thighs and thinner variants on her elbows and knees. To top it all off she had on new leather boots with steel toes and enough leather padding to stay as quiet as her ninja sandals (or sneakers).

All of it was designed specifically to stop conventional blades and arrows without sacrificing too much of a ninja's all important mobility.

"I agree." Tenten said. She was armored in a plate mail breast plate made of leather, leather arm and shoulder guards, chain mail around her abdomen and her legs, a leather skirt and knee high leather boots.

"You sure you wanna go with chain mail, Tenten? I can hear every movement you make." Sakura pointed out.

"I can get it adjusted later if I need to." Tenten shrugged.

"It'll still be chain mail."

"I'll put a silencing seal on it then." Tenten said.

"I think mine is better." Ino stated as she came out. She was hardly covered by clothes at all. She wore a purple top that only covered her breasts and her waist was bare, save for two long flaps that covered her rear and front. At least she was smart enough to wear mithril armor on her abdomen, arms and legs, her feet protected by shin high plate boots.

"Of course you would go for the sluttiest look possible." Sakura deadpanned.

"I have to agree." Kakashi said. He wore an outfit similar to Shiekan's.

"Oh get off your high horse, Forehead. You're still showing off those legs of yours. I don't see you going all out on protection like Tenten." Ino stated.

"Well at least I don't look like I belong to a harem." Sakura bit back.

"What's wrong with that? A true kunoichi utilizes all her assets to gain the edge on her opponent. Including showing off her sex appeal. That's what our kunoichi instructor told us, remember? Some bandit gets a load of this and he's gonna be thinking I'm just some sexy 13-year-old girl playing dress up and won't notice me sticking a kunai through his heart." Ino defended.

"That may be how things work in your country, but here, the enemies only care about turning you into a bloody smear in the grass." Shiekan said as he walked out.

"My point still stands." Ino said.

"No, it doesn't. The monsters you will face here will not stop and think twice about how you look, and the army that is attacking is strictly made of women and the monsters I told you about."

"Of women?" Sakura asked.

"The Gerudo. They are an army of desert thieves and pirates." Shiekan added.

"And they are made entirely of women?" Tenten asked.

"All save for their leader, Ganondorf."

"Huh...usually with an army consisting only of women, they have a female leader. Usually because they are all man haters." Tenten said, remembering one or two stories about all kunoichi bands. The Land of Wind Vipers being the first ones she could think of.

"It's the same deal here, but a legend among their people foretells that a single male will be born among them, whose destiny is to lead them as their king."

"And Ganondorf is that King?"

"Correct., however, he is not the king they expected."

"How so?" Sakura asked.

"As I have said before, Ganondorf is leading these armies against Hyrule. This dark and vile man will never stop until he has control of the whole world in his hands, or see it all razed to ashes around him. Not even the Elemental Nations are safe from him and his dark magic." Shiekan said grimly.

"So...it doesn't matter where we are, we're still in just as much danger back home as we are here." Shikamaru stated.

"Exactly. Even if you were to head back home now, you would only be delaying the inevitable." Shiekan confirmed.

"Great..." Kakashi sighed.

"So why only ask the Leaf for help? Why not the other Great Shinobi nations if this is so important?" Choji asked.

"I asked the king the same thing, but the Leaf was the only one who responded."

"Troublesome." Shikamaru said.

"Personally. I wonder why Kakashi sensei isn't just letting us sneak into Ganondorf's base or whatever and assassinate him." Naruto asked as he stepped out of the changing room.

He was wearing steel plated armor similar to Sakura's. With shoulder pads, thigh guards, elbow and knee pads, leather boots with the steel toes, and steel gauntlets for his arms. He didn't have a breast plate though. Instead he chose to rely on his Chunin vest, which was woven with special materials to be just as touch as any steel armor.

"That could probably save a lot of time." Naruto finished.

"Because our mission is to safeguard the king until reinforcements arrive." Kakashi stated.

"But still. How hard can it be to slip into some guy's house when he's asleep and slice his neck open?" Naruto asked.

"With Ganondorf, more difficult than you think." Shiekan informed.

"Because of his magic?" Naruto asked.

"Mostly, but because he is forever guarded by his evil forces who can detect ninja's very easily."

"Detect us? What gives us away?" Sakura asked.

"Your presence. That's all it would take. His evil spirits can detect anything with a life force, no matter how small."

"Oh...when you said ninjas, I thought you meant our chakra specifically, but if it's anything...never mind." Sakura replied.

"So we will stick to the plan. Today, we are going to train in the use of our new armor and then we will make our way to the castle." Kakashi stated.

"Kakashi-sensei, didn't you say that it would take us a week to reach Hyrule castle?" Sakura asked.

"I did. We'll be taking a shortcut though." Kakashi said vaguely as he went outside in his newly acquired armor to begin the training.

"Short cut?" Sakura asked.

"We'll be cutting through the lost woods to shave off a few days." Shiekan informed before walking out.

"Why does the name of that place make me nervous." Shikamaru stated.

"We will tell you all later. Right now, focus on your training. We plan on jumping right into the fire after today." Shiekan stated.

"What are we doing?" Hinata asked when she stepped out of the changing room.

She wore a grey combat dress, steel bracers, leather, knee high boots and her under armor consisted of Mithril, a light yet very strong type of armor.

"Training I guess." Naruto shrugged.

They all walked out of the building, but Hinata waited for a moment.

"Haruno." Hinata called, but paused. "Sakura...wait a minute..."

Sakura stopped and turned to face her. "Look, I don't want to fight anymore. We fought and you lost."

"I-I know...that's not what I wanna talk to you about..."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Alright...what's up?"

"Look...I-I'm one to admit when I'm wrong...but that the time, I saw you only for the way I wanted to. Last night...when you hit Naruto...I could see that I was wrong, because I can agree that he deserved it." Hinata admitted. "So... what I'm saying is...I'm sorry..."

Sakura's eyes went wide, but Hinata wasn't done.

"I've seen the way you two interact...you two were practically meant for each other, I see that now...so, I won't get in the way."

"Hinata..." Sakura breathed out.

"I can see...that he truly loves you and... that I had no chance to begin with..."

"Hinata, listen...it takes great courage to admit something like this and I have great respect for you because of that. But listen...you're not the only one who has to apologize. I shouldn't have lost my temper over a silly game, so I'm sorry for that. I'm also sorry for breaking your nose. But look, if things don't work out between us, because we admitted to each other last light (please don't tell anyone), I would love nothing more than for you to be there for him."

Hinata's face briefly lit up before it drooped again. "I don't want to be a rebound girl."

"No, I'm not saying as a rebound. I'm saying as someone to comfort him. Because there is always that chance that I could die."

Hinata went wide eyed. It wasn't every day that a comrade openly talked about the possibility of death. It was an accepted fact best left unmentioned usually. Not something to be brought up, period.

"I'm not saying that it will, but if it does, Naruto is going to need someone to be there for him."

"I understand." Hinata nodded.

Sakura smiled and held out her hand. "Friends?"

"Friends." Hinata shook Sakura's hand before pulling her in for what looked like a friendly hug to outsiders.

"Any sign of weakness I see, I'll make a move." Hinata whispered.

"Just so long as you remember you get one shot at toppling the queen." Sakura threatened back.

The two pulled away from each other and gave knowing smiles. Naruto saw this and was overjoyed that the two of them had resolved their differences.

"Come on. Let's go train." Sakura said.

"Yes, let's..." Hinata said as Naruto followed close behind.

The Konoha 11 all gathered around Kakashi out in a field where they could train in relative peace.

"Alright everyone. We're going to be moving out soon. That means we all need to get used to this armor as soon as possible. And the best way to do that is to fight in it. So pick a sparring partner and have at it. Try to keep things purely taijutsu for now. We don't need any of you to get seriously hurt. Understood?" Kakashi asked.

"Yes, sensei." They all responded.

"Good. Now go ahead and pick your partner." Kakashi ordered.

One by one, the kids picked their sparring partners, usually their close friends. Sakura was about to ask Naruto when she was pulled aside by Tenten.

"Sakura? I don't think we've had the pleasure yet." Tenten smirked as she hoisted her newly acquired blade.

Sakura wanted to fight Naruto, but seeing as Tenten was an unknown to her, she couldn't resist. "Sure, why not?"

Naruto meanwhile was looking for his own partner. Fortunately, he knew exactly who he had in mind.

He walked over to the two who just so happen to be trying to start their own 1 on 1 sparing match.

"Hey Kiba, Lee." Naruto said.

"Bug off, we're already about to start." Kiba spat.

"Yeah. I wanted to join you two." Naruto said as he folded his arms.

Kiba raised an eyebrow. "You wanna do a two on one? Yea, even you aren't that good."

"Who says I'm not?" Naruto asked.

"I do."

"Well then prove it." Naruto said. "What say you, Bushy Brows?"

"Yosh! A youthful way to test one's mettle." Lee exclaimed.

"Alright, but no Shadow Clones, Naruto. Kakashi said this was a strict taijutsu fight." Kiba smirked.

"(Yeah)!" Akamaru yipped.

"Fine by me. I could use a challenge." Naruto said as he dropped down into his taijutsu stance, yet something was off. Something that Lee, the martial arts expert picked up on.

"Naruto, that isn't your usual stance." Lee said.

"I'm trying something new." Naruto smirked.

"Psht, whatever, let's do this." Kiba said as he dropped down into his own clan's stance. Akamaru then jumped out of his coat and took up position next to his master, wearing cute little puppy armor.

"Whenever you're ready, princess." Naruto shot at Kiba.

"Oh ho, cleaver bastard." Kiba growled.

"Were coming for you, Fishcake Swirls." Lee joked.

"I'm waiting, slowpoke." Naruto shot back.

Lee smirked before flash stepping out of sight and reappearing with a kick aimed at Naruto's head.

Naruto grabbed Lee's kick and twisted his leg, causing him to spin before delivering a kick of his own to Lee, sending the green clad taijutsu master to the ground hard.

"Woah..." Kiba breathed out, eyes wide. He never saw Naruto move that fast before.

Kiba took it at his only opening and charged at Naruto's blind spot with his claws outstretched. Naruto managed to block him from behind and even counted Kiba's second blow before giving the Inuzuka heir a devastating kick to the gut.

Kiba was knocked back over to where Lee was trying to stand up. Akamaru was soon thrown over to join them.

The two ninjas just looked at one another and then at Naruto, who had returned to his 1st position.

"Come on guys, that was just a warm up." Naruto said.

The two boys and the dog looked at one another and nodded. They picked themselves back up and charged again.

Meanwhile, Sakura was doing her best to avoid Tenten's Razor sword. She quickly learned that Kunai was very ineffective against it when the weapons mistress sliced her kunai in half like it was made of paper. That sword was truly a force to be reckoned with.

She dodged another swipe, Sakura could swear she felt the blade cut her by the wind alone. Usually with blades that big it would be slower to swing, but the sword truly was too light and Tenten too skilled for it to have any shortcomings. She needed a strategy to win.

 _'There's gotta be some way to get past her.'_ Sakura thought.

"Oh I am so loving this sword." Tenten smirked as he twirled it around on her hand. She'd have to find a shield at some point.

 _'I could use a barrage of kunai and senbon to distract her so I can get an opening...no, she's too fast and smart for that trick. Damn...what can I do?'_ Sakura thought.

Then she thought about something. _'She has a limited range with that sword. If I can get her to swing it and doge it at the right moment, I can land a good hit on her.'_

"What's the matter, Sakura? Giving up already?" Tenten goaded.

"Not on your life." Sakura said back.

"Then let's do this. No more warming up." Tenten stated seriously as she readied her blade.

Sakura readied her own stance in response.

 _'The question is...how do I get her to swing early?'_ Sakura thought before she remembered her shoulder guards.

Sakura smirked. She had to be as crazy as Naruto sometimes.

Tenten charged at Sakura with her blade ready to swing, thinking that Sakura would just leap away to safety, but this wasn't like all those other times.

Sakura ran straight at Tenten and before she could stop herself, the weapon's mistress swung her giant sword. Sakura did not try to dodge though, instead she twisted her body as such that the blade would hit her shoulder pads. Thinking quickly, Sakura pumped chakra into her armor at the last possible moment. Instead of carving her in two, the blade bounced off her shoulder leaving Sakura unharmed. Sakura then slammed her other shoulder into Tenten's chest, knocking her backwards into the dirt.

Sakura stood over her opponent victorious.

Tenten sat up with her sword on her belly and shook the daze out of her head. She looked up to see a pink haired medic-in-training holding a kunai under her chin.

"Point for me." Sakura smiled.

"H-how...? That should have sliced right through you..." Tenten said in shock.

"Quick burst of chakra, coupled with the slope of my shoulder guards bounced your blade off." Sakura explained.

Tenten went wide eyed and then chuckled. "Smart move, I'll give you that."

Sakura then extended out her hand. "Round 2?" She asked.

"You know it." Tenten smirked.

Back with Naruto, Kiba, and Rock Lee, the latter two were continuing to get their collective asses firmly handed to them.

Naruto was currently exchanging jabs with Lee, punching, kicking, sweeping elbows, knees to the gut. All of them being blocked, dodged, or countered for the most part. Lee was certainly getting more hits in with his speed, but Naruto always seemed to land the more devastating hits.

 _'This is ridiculous! How did he get so good in such a short time?!'_ Kiba thought.

Lee managed to get behind Naruto's guard with a roundhouse kick that knocked him to his front. Naruto merely rolled with the blow and came up standing.

"Come on you guys, I'm not even breaking a sweat here." Naruto said.

"Yosh, Naruto I must know. What style did you learn to help you improve so quickly?" Lee inquired.

Naruto smirked. "The Toad style of Martial Arts."

"Toad style? I've not heard of that one." Lee said, getting as excited as Tenten was at the thought of learning about a new fighting style.

"It was taught to me by Pervy Sage. Granted he only had a month to teach me, but the style really works for me." Naruto smirked.

"Pervy sage?" Kiba and Lee questioned.

"Oh, uh...Jiraiya." Naruto clarified.

 _'So that's it...'_ Kiba thought. _'The Toad Sage trained him and he excelled to such a point. Well, I'll be damned if I'm gonna let him toss me around. I will ask Sakura out.'_

Naruto leapt back towards Lee to continue his assault, only this time it wouldn't be one on one.

Kiba jumped up behind Naruto and kicked him in the back, stumbling the blond boy forward and into Lee's fist to the gut. Naruto doubled over, but quickly righted himself and kept up the assault, fighting both opponents at once.

Everyone who was sparring had to stop and watch. Naruto was more than holding his own against both Kiba and Lee.

Sakura blocked Tenten's blade with her own kunai when she saw Naruto taking on two opponents at once.

Even Kakashi and Shiekan had to stop their own match to get a load of this fight.

Lee send out his most powerful kick whereas Kiba sent his most power swipe, both aimed for Naruto's head.

Naruto caught both attacks and stopped them dead, creating a small shock wave from the power used for those attacks.

"What?!" Kiba exclaimed.

"Amazing..." Lee gasped.

"My turn." Naruto smirked.

Naruto lifted up both his legs and dealt two devastating kicks to each opponent, knocking them back. Naruto gave chase to Kiba and elbowed him hard in the gut, doubling him over. Then he used the back of his fist and smacked Kiba hard in the face, toppling him over and knocking him out.

"Woah..." The others gasped out in awe.

 _'YEAH! That's my man!'_ Sakura cheered mentally.

Both Kiba and Lee slumped together in a pile, beaten and exhausted. Naruto knelt next to them both to whisper in their ears. "Sakura-chan is off limits." He said. The boys groaned that they understood the man and Naruto smiled.

 _'Naruto...I've known you since you were knee high to a cat. you never cease to surprise everyone, but this is beyond what I thought you were capable of. You have far exceeded the 3rds expectations and even mine.'_ Kakashi thought in awe.

"Impressive pupil you have there, Kakashi." Shiekan praised.

"He never ceases to amaze me." Kakashi said.

"You should be proud. I wish my pupils were that adapt at the physical arts when they were his age."

"I'm very proud." Kakashi said as all of the others came running up to Naruto. "More than I could ever be."

"Perhaps we could get a demonstration between your pupil and one of mine once things calm down. I would love to test the ninjas of Hyrule against the ninjas from the Land of Fire."

"That is a possibility." Kakashi said before he wandered into thought. _'Minato-sensei...I wish you could see the man your son has become.'_

"So who's next?!" Naruto challenged.

"I think that's enough." Kakashi stated. "I think we've all gotten the feel for our armor now."

He clapped his hands and all the other kids ceased their fights. They then gathered back around Kakashi like they were students back at the Academy.

"Everyone listen up." Kakashi called. "In lieu of recent enemy movements, we are going to be rushing through to Hyrule castle and will be arriving in 3 days from tomorrow."

"Sensei?" Shikamaru raised his hand. "You said that it would take us a week to reach the castle. How could we possibly reach it in 3 days?"

"I'm glad you asked, Shikamaru." Kakashi replied. "Later tonight, at approximately 3 AM, we will make our way to a place called the Lost Woods and cross it in a day. We would have gone around it before, but time is not on our side anymore."

"So what makes this place so special that we wouldn't cross it unless we were desperate?" Ino asked.

"It's very easy to get lost there. And when you get lost there you never get found. So make sure when you travel through their you stick together and do not break off." Shiekan warned.

"For that reason, we will be hiking through these woods. Not sprinting." Kakashi added.

"Wouldn't that slow us down?" Sakura asked.

"It's the best way to ensure that none of us will become lost. There are more than a few tales of travelers becoming separated because one of them stepped behind a tree. We travel in a slow and steady pace and we minimize that risk." Shiekan explained. "With any luck, we should reach the other side before nightfall and then it is a straight 2 days run across flat plains to Hyrule castle."

"That's why we should all turn in to get the most amount of rest possible." Kakashi finished.

"Wait, what happens if we get caught in the Lost Woods after it gets dark?" Naruto asked.

"As long as we stick together and follow me, you should have nothing to worry about." Shiekan said.

That didn't exactly fill our young heroes with encouragement, but they were long ago used to being given vague information from their superiors and just shrugged it off.

"On the plus side. That means we get one more hearty meal from Mrs. Bo. Who has been more than generous with us this past day and a half." Kakashi mentioned.

"Good enough for me." Sakura said.

"Enjoy it. Tomorrow we won't have time for a big meal before we leave and we won't be stopping to eat until after we get out of the Lost Woods." Kakashi said.

"Back to normal food rations I guess." Naruto shrugged.

"Nothing we aren't used to." Tenten sighed.

"True." Sakura said.

"Yes. So adjust your armor now. Do away with whatever is useless and tighten down everything else. We eat in two hours and then we go to bed after that. No exceptions. We'll be hiking for 18 hours straight tomorrow. I can't emphasis that enough." Kakashi stated.

"Right." They all responded.

The others broke off to take care of their armor, but Ino had other ideas and grabbed Sakura.

"You. Me. Talk. Now." Ino said as she dragged Sakura away.

"Ino! Stop it!" Sakura protested, but she was continuously dragged away so Ino could pry her for all the juicy details in private.

"What's all that about?" Naruto wondered aloud.

"No idea." Kiba admitted. "You up for a game of poker? Got nothing else to do till dinner."

"Sure." Naruto shrugged.

"Yo Tenten, Hinata! You wanna join us?" Kiba asked.

"Sure." Tenten said.

"Okay...but I'm not very good..." Hinata said meekly.

"Doesn't matter. We're playing from bragging rights anyway." Kiba said as he led the big group back to the inn where they could find a large enough table.

Meanwhile, Ino had dragged Sakura far enough away from the others so she could finally get what she's after.

"Alright, details girl." Ino smirked.

"I decided last night that I wanted to be with Naruto so I went into his room and made out with him because he'd be too stupid to realize that I love him more than a friend or a brother through words and I was right and it was the most amazing thing ever." Sakura said in one breath, for she knew she would not be able to escape and wanted to get it off her chest as well.

"Okay, try that again, this time slower and more details."

Sakura sighed. "Fine. Last night, after a lot of thinking, I decided that I didn't just want to be Naruto's best friend and surrogate sister. I wanted to be his everything, because he is my everything." Sakura began.

"Aww..." Ino gushed.

"So this was all after we said our good night's and went to bed. I then snuck out of my room and went into his, where he was also awake."

"Oh really..." Ino smirked. "What else did you do?"

"No, nothing like that. And that won't happen for years if I can help it."

Ino raised an eyebrow. "Really? Years? I doubt even you could hold out that long. Can you even do that?"

"Um...maybe? I don't know. Anyway, back on track here."

"Yes, so how did you confess?" Ino asked.

"After that? Well I wanted to tell him everything. Have one of those big gushy confessions like you see in all the romantic comedies, you know? But this was Naruto we were talking about. He would never get it as much as actions would. So I kissed him instead and he kissed me back."

Ino squealed. "How was it?"

"It was...it was...wet..." Sakura said.

Ino snickered. "Really? That's it?"

"What do you want from me? It was wet cause it was kind of sloppy and I might've sort've been crying tears of joy the whole time..." Sakura's voice grew softer and softer.

"Was it anything that you imagined your first kiss to be?"

"No...it was a million times better...nothing like I ever imagined could come close to how it felt...I felt...complete, whole, like this was meant to be from the get go...like he had always been the missing puzzle piece to my heart that I didn't even know was missing."

"Woah...some kiss..." Ino said in awe. She could only hope hers would be that good. "Wow, he was really that bad of a kisser to make you cry?" Ino teased.

Sakura just puffed out her cheeks.

"Sage of Six Paths, I'm just kidding." Ino said.

"I was crying because I finally got to kiss him. Years of uncertainty and whatever else and he accepted me. It was amazing. Even if it did get kind of...slobbery..." Sakura admitted.

"Why would it be slobbery? Unless...no... you used tongue, didn't you?" Ino said in amazement.

"Well yeah. That's what you're supposed to do, right?" Sakura asked.

"Yea, after the 3rd date, generally."

"Well, excuse me. I've only known him as far back as I can remember and we've shared so much. I think we can skip over a few dating prerequisites." Sakura snapped out of embarrassment.

"Woah, chill girl. I doubt he would even care. It just took me by surprise is all."

"Sorry, it was just really special to me. My first ever kiss and we were drooling down each other's chins." Sakura admitted.

"Hey, if you two enjoyed it, then that's fine with me. I'm happy for you, Forehead. Really I am." Ino smiled.

"I know, I'm just really nervous too. It's left me so emotional, and I wanna keep it a secret from everybody else for now, which is a lot harder than I thought."

"I won't say a word. Relationships between teammates can be tricky."

"Yeah, and that's why I want to keep it a secret. If I can keep Kakashi sensei and the others in the dark about it, then that means that our relationship won't interfere with our jobs as ninjas." Sakura explained.

"That's a smart thing to do, but I think you should at least let Kakashi-sensei know about this, if he doesn't already."

"No. He's one of the people I want to prove this to most of all." Sakura said firmly.

"If you say so Forehead. So what happened next?" Ino pressed.

"Well we broke apart after some time. We both said that we loved each other and then we went to bed." Sakura stated.

"Anticlimactic, but cute."

"Would you feel better if I said I slept on him and woke up in his arms?" Sakura asked.

"A little bit. Only if you told me where his hands were?" Ino smirked.

"He kept his hands wrapped around my back. He was a perfect gentleman." Sakura said with her nose up.

"Okay, but where we're your hands?" Ino asked.

"On his chest."

"Did he have his shirt on or off?"

"We were both in our robes, remember?"

"And I'm asking what your state of undress was after your hot make out session." Ino pressed evily.

"Oh come on. It's not like we haven't seen what the other has anyway. but if you must know, we still had our robes on...they were just...open..."

"How open?"

"Like...all the way open..." Sakura blushed.

"So he saw all of your... or lack of...?"

"Yea..."

"Lucky boy..." Ino smirked.

"Oh please...like I said, it's nothing he hasn't seen before. Plus, factor in this. He also saw you, Tenten and Hinata yesterday, remember?"

"Yeah, but we weren't drooling over him. Well Tenten might've if you had given her a few more minutes alone with Naruto." Ino teased.

"Perhaps, but at least she has restraint, unlike someone else I know, Pig." Sakura smirked.

"I have no idea what you are talking about." Ino said innocently. "I just wanted a massage."

"Yea, a massage of your boobs maybe."

"Maybe...if he was a good boy..." Ino smirked.

"You had Choji for that anyway. He seemed more than willing to please you." Sakura smirked.

"And he certainly has the hands for it, though I'm not certain he's actual boyfriend material." Ino said.

"Knowing him, you can get him there with very little coaxing."

"Yes, but unlike you Forehead, I'm not so desperately in need a man quite yet."

"Neither am I! It just...happened..."

"Sure it did. It totally wasn't 8 years in the making."

"Um...well..."

"Relax Forehead. You're together, you make each other happy, and that's all that matters." Ino said as she patted Sakura on the back.

"Well, surely there has to be someone you're after."

Ino sighed. "Well, since Sasuke turned traitor, I had hoped I could worm my way to Naruto, but you beat me to it. So... there's no one right now."

"What?! You were gonna steal Naruto from behind my back?!" Sakura shrieked.

"Oh come on, he was still free game and you know it."

"Still, that is... When were you planning to make a move?" Sakura asked.

"Only if you didn't."

"Okay...good...but why? Naruto is no Sasuke."

"What? Did you think you could hang around with a boy all your life, bragging to us girls all about your many adventures and how thoughtful he was to you, without the rest of us girls thinking he might be a catch? Face it Sakura, you turned Naruto into the perfect steady boyfriend material to juxtapose Sasuke's dark and mysterious boyfriend material."

"I guess..." Sakura mused.

"If anything, I was saving you from an undesirable sister-in-law down the road." Ino said.

"I wouldn't say undesirable. Annoying maybe, but not unwanted." Sakura replied.

"You'd want to be Hinata's sister-in-law?"

"Oh...I thought you meant yourself..."

"Hey! I said I'd be saving you from that!"

Sakura stuck her tongue out.

Ino just puffed her cheeks out.

"Hey, I was just messing with you." Sakura laughed.

"Yeah, you're definitely made for Naruto." Ino said.

"I know." Sakura grinned.

* * *

Back with Naruto and the others, everyone was starting to grow annoyed at Hinata's constant winning streak.

"Not very good my foot..." Kiba grumbled.

"Well, I'm out..." Naruto sighed. He had no chips left.

"Oh come on, we've already started." Shino said.

"Yea, and I have no chips if you haven't noticed." Naruto pointed out.

"Well, maybe if you stop shoving more than you need into the pot you'd have more." Tenten said.

"Go big or go home, that's how you win." Naruto stated.

"Yea, it shows." Shikamaru sighed before he folded. His hand was garbage.

"Bah, I'm going for some fresh air." Naruto said as he made his way out the door.

"Fresh air, yeah, there has a been a short supply of that on this mission." Kiba said.

Naruto made his way outside. The sun was just setting behind a mountain and the breeze felt good against him. He looked around and could see Sakura and Ino making their way towards him.

"Got room for one more?" Shikamaru asked as he came up behind Naruto.

"Yea..." Naruto sighed.

"So... you and Sakura, huh?" Shikamaru started, making Naruto freeze.

"W-what...?"

"Yeah, mind if we talk in private?" Shikamaru asked, noting that Sakura and Ino were headed straight towards them.

"Uh...s-sure..." Naruto stammered, afraid of where this was going.

Shikamaru then led him into the woods, away from the girls and didn't stop until they were a ways away from the town. Out of eavesdropping range anyway.

Once they stopped, Naruto was on the verge of losing his patience.

"So you know about me and Sakura-chan, huh?"

"It wasn't that difficult to guess. Not like your other secret." Shikamaru said knowingly.

Naruto's eyes went wide before growing dark, his hand subconsciously moving towards his belly. "How long have you known?"

"Since we were 7. Didn't confirm it until I was around 10 though." Shikamaru replied.

"How?"

"Saw you when I was a kid. I was out with my mother when I noticed you and Sakura running away from an angry mob. She tripped and fell on a rock. You looked back and saw the mob descending upon her, and you snapped. You emitted so red and angry looking chakra and attacked the crowd. Sent a dozen people to the hospital before the ANBU showed up to restrain you."

Naruto looked down, his fists tightened and a look of pain in his eyes.

"Sakura doesn't know, does she?" Shikamaru asked.

"No. She was knocked out by the fall. She didn't see anything and doesn't remember anything." Naruto said.

"So she only knows the side of you that is a victim to the wrath of the ignorant villagers." Shikamaru stated.

"Yup. Are you one of those ignorant villagers that thinks I've corrupted Sakura-chan?" Naruto growled.

"No, I know that those villagers had it coming. I've seen you be attacked by the villagers before. You never raised a hand to defend yourself, only when your precious Sakura-chan was hurt did you snap." Shikamaru explained.

"Which leads me to my reason for talking to you about this. The way you snapped when Sakura got hurt when running from the villagers, what's gonna happen if she gets killed in battle?" Shikamaru asked.

"What?" Naruto growled.

"Oh please spare me. You know the power the sleeps inside you better than anyone Naruto. Sakura is smart, but she's not as smart as she thinks she is. Especially when it comes to you." Shikamaru said. "So what would you do if she were to leave you? One way or another."

Naruto thought about it for a long time. Hell, he had been thinking about that all his life.

"I don't know. Honestly, I'd be devastated. A wreck. But I don't want to have that fear stop me from being with Sakura-chan. If I did that, she might as well be dead." Naruto stated firmly.

Shikamaru just sighed. "At least you can admit that..." He said before walking off.

"What that's it?" Naruto asked, shocked.

"That's it." Shikamaru stated. "I've said my piece. So long as you acknowledge the risk, that's all I care about."

 _'What do I do...? I couldn't bear the thought of losing her in any way. But...there is always that possibility that I could lose her forever...'_ Naruto thought.

 _ **'Oh spare me...'**_ The Kyuubi groaned.

 _'Kyuubi?'_ Naruto thought.

 _ **'Fucking Sage, Kit. You've been pissing and moaning about getting with your pink vixen ever since you met her, and now that you've got her you're still pissing and moaning.'**_ The Kyuubi growled.

 _' I can't help it. I don't know what I would do if I lost her even if we weren't together.'_

 _ **'Kit, you and I both know that you would never let anything happen to her so long as you drew breath you would make sure that she was kept safe. So stop worrying about what could be and focus on the Here and Now.'**_

 _'Hmmm...maybe you're right...'_ Naruto thought.

"Um, Naruto?" Shikamaru asked.

"Huh? What?"

"You went doe eyed on me. We're you having a mental conversation?"

"Uh...yea I was."

"With the Kyuubi?" Shikamaru pressed.

"H-how did you..." Naruto asked in shock.

"My clan's records mentioned former jinchuriki being able to communicate with their demons. It's probably what drove Gaara insane now that I think about it. What about you? How does your demon treat you?"

"He's quiet for the most part."

"So why wasn't he quiet now?"

"He speaks whenever he feels like it."

 _ **'Just tell him, will you?'**_ The Kyuubi growled.

"And he's never tried to tempt you in any way?" Shikamaru asked.

"Um...he has tried to trick me into releasing him, but I always refuse...anyway, he said that I shouldn't dwell on what could be and that I should focus on the here and now in regards to Sakura-chan."

"He did? Well that's...well..." Shikamaru was at a loss for words.

"What?" Naruto asked.

"That's...very sound advice and... can't believe I'm saying this, but you should listen to him. I'm actually shocked that came from a demon."

"Well he can be kind of a jerk, but he's not mindless." Naruto defended.

"Fair enough..." Shikamaru mused.

"Why are you asking me all this?" Naruto wondered.

"I ask because I care about you Naruto. We've been friends since the Academy haven't we? You, me, Choji, Kiba, Ino, and Sakura. So I care about your wellbeing as a friend, but as a Journeyman ninja, I have to think about the rest of the team too. And if one stray kunai to Sakura's heart is enough to put you over the edge, then it needs to be addressed." Shikamaru said.

"It won't happen..." Naruto said quietly.

"What won't happen?"

"Nothing will happen to Sakura..." Naruto looked up with absolute resolve in his eyes. "I promise on my life; I will protect her until my dying breath. So long as I'm around, she will be safe, she will be happy. Consider that a promise of a lifetime."

Shikamaru sighed. "Guess I'm not gonna sway you to see it my way. That's fine. I tried."

"Because you're wrong. I don't care how smart you are, so long as Sakura-chan has me, she will always be safe. Period." Naruto stated firmly.

"You say that, but you don't know. What's worse is that you're not even humoring the possibility. And that's what is the most dangerous of all." Shikamaru lectured.

"Why would I when it won't happen..."

"It's not about if it will or won't, it's if it might happen."

"I'm not gonna focus on a might, because even I know that it's only a 50/50 chance of something bad happening." Naruto said.

"And what if you're wrong? Huh?" Shikamaru demanded.

"Why are you so dead-set on a what if being reality? There's no guarantee that it will be reality and hell, you even said that I didn't know if it would happen or not. In reality neither do you so why go on about this?"

"Because if I'm wrong than nothing happens. If you're wrong and we get caught unprepared then the whole team may suffer. I'd rather be prepared and have a plan than leave it up to a hope and a prayer!"

"Well, then I don't know what to tell you."

"What I want you to DO, is to really think about Sakura and what she means to you. Then imagine what it would be like to lose her. Is she worth the entire rest of your team? The rest of the village? And if you can't imagine that, try to imagine what she would want if she ever had to leave you. What would she want for you?" Shikamaru shouted.

"I... urg..." Naruto stammered. Try as he might, he couldn't think of a good response.

"Just think about what I've said." Shikamaru said before leaving the blond alone.

"Dammit..." Naruto grumbled as he slumped down on a rock.

His mind was filled with Sakura, his ever present rock that kept him grounded. That smile of hers, the way she laughed, that gentle touch of hers that turned hard on those that wronged her or her friends. To lose her would be like losing the ground beneath his feet.

Unknown to him, the person he was thinking about right now was watching him.

"She's my everything...I can't lose her..." Naruto thought aloud.

 _'What? Is he having second thoughts?'_ Sakura thought worriedly.

"What is there to think about? I would be devastated if I lost her, even if she wasn't my girlfriend...she's the only one I have in my life...she's my whole reason for living..." He choked out.

 _'Naruto...'_ Sakura thought.

"What am I supposed to do...? It's almost like Shikamaru doesn't want us to be together..."

 _'So that's it...'_ Sakura growled mentally. Damn that pineapple headed know-it-all for interfering.

 _ **'That's not what he wants at all.'**_ The Kyuubi spoke.

 _'Then what is it?'_

 _ **'He just wants you to imagine losing your vixen and learning how to deal with that loss. So that you don't go crazy and release me by accident.'**_

At that moment, Naruto froze. He had Shikamaru all wrong. He thought that he just wanted them to break up, maybe so he could ask her out.

"Oh god..." Naruto breathed out before feeling a soft hand on the back of his neck.

He twisted around suddenly with his kunai drawn.

"Woah, easy..." Sakura said softly.

Naruto was shocked when he saw that it was Sakura, his Sakura-chan. He didn't remember dropping his kunai, only that he grabbed Sakura by her face to see her clearly.

"It's okay, Naruto-kun...I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere..." She said softly as she stroked his cheek.

Naruto didn't say a word. Instead, he just pulled her in for a bone crushing hug.

"Ugh! N-Naruto! Air!" Sakura wheezed out.

"I'm sorry..." He sobbed. The tears flowing freely down his cheeks.

She felt his grip loosen a little bit and was able to breath. Then she proceeded to rub his back to comfort him and kissed his cheek. "Shhhh...it's okay..."

"But I don't know what to do...?" He sobbed softly. "What do I do if I lose you? I just don't know..."

"Naruto...listen to me..." Sakura started softly.

Naruto nodded to confirm that he was paying attention.

"If anything should happen to me, I'd want you to live, do you understand me?"

"B-but..."

"Naruto...I know I'm all you have and you're all I have. If you were to die, I know you'd want me to live my life and be happy for the time we've had together and that's what I want you to do. Do you understand? Don't be sad because I'm gone, don't be upset. I wouldn't want you to be in pain again. Instead, keep in mind all of the happy times we've had together and continue on with your life. Settle down with someone else, have a nice family, become Hokage, just live your life, Naruto-kun...that's what I want you to do the most."

"But I want to do all that stuff with you...be Hokage with you by my side, buy a house for you and I to live in, raise a family..." Naruto said.

"And I with you, but if I'm not around, I don't want you to seclude yourself in sorrow or take your anxiety and anger on everyone else around you. I want you to live your life."

Naruto just sobbed. All the emotions that he held in back when Sakuri died came flooding out. He wanted to be there for Sakura who needed him the most, but now she was the one taking care of him.

He held her close.

"I will... I promise..." He said.

"Good..." Sakura said softly and held him.

"Sniff...so long as you promise too..."

"I promise too...I'll make it a blood promise if I have to..."

Naruto chuckled. "I think...you don't need to go that far..."

"Good, because I don't want to explain why our hands are bleeding to Kakashi-sensei."

The two of them shared a good laugh.

"Come on, dinner should be ready soon." Sakura said.

"Okay and..." Naruto locked his lips with hers for a brief moment. "Thank you..."

"Anytime, now seriously come on. Ino heard that Mrs. Bo was making sirloin steak."

"Oh yum..."

* * *

After some time had passed, Sakura and Naruto had returned to the Inn, where Shikamaru was standing outside, waiting for their return.

Upon their arrival, he saw them holding hands and knew that everything would be alright. He went back inside.

"I guess he got the message." Sakura said softly.

"I guess so." Naruto replied.

The two walked inside and were greeted by their friends and a massive feast, what they didn't expect, was all eyes to be on them with shit-eating grins.

"What?" Sakura asked before Ino came up to her.

"You two are still holding hands." She whispered.

Sakura lit up like a red light and threw down Naruto's hand.

"Something you two wanna share?" Tenten smirked.

"Nothing!" They both shouted as they sat down to eat.

"Hmm..." Kakashi mused to himself as he observed his pupils' actions.

"There's always one." Shiekan mused as he ate his buttered roll.

"So it seems..." Kakashi agreed.

* * *

The rest of the afternoon came and went without incident. The meal was delicious, as always, and with fully bellies the group retired after one last game of cards.

"Good night Naruto." Sakura said before she stepped inside her bedroom wearing nothing but her PJ's.

"Good night Sakura." He said before returning to his own bedroom.

Once inside, he waited a full hour to let everyone fall asleep before he created a single Shadow Clone to take his place.

Naruto then crept out to the hallway and unto Sakura's bedroom, where the girl slept soundly with her back to the door.

Naruto closed the door behind him and snuck under her covers. He could smell her even if he couldn't see her, strawberries mixed with something sweet. He snuggled in close with his arms wrapped around her, breathing in the scent of her hair.

"I figured you'd come in here." Sakura whispered.

"Didn't mean to wake you." Naruto whispered back.

"I wasn't asleep. I was waiting to see if you'd come in." Sakura said softly before turning over to see him. "I think I've grown so used to sleeping with you that I can't sleep alone anymore."

"Same. My bed just feels off otherwise." Naruto said as he moved his left foot in between both of hers.

"Then how about we just make this an every night thing? I mean, we do live together. You can toss out that old bed and sleep in mine."

"What's wrong with my bed?"

"It's got springs poking out of it and it stinks..." Sakura deadpanned.

"Oh yeah..." Naruto deadpanned. "I've been sleeping on it for so long that I've stopped noticing."

"Well, mine is not even a year old and you've seen how big it is."

"Yeah. I was surprised when you asked for a new bed for your birthday."

"Well I wanted a smaller one, but now...I don't need a smaller one."

"Why, what's wrong with a smaller one?" Naruto asked as he snuggled in closer on their twin bed.

"A bed this size is fine for our size now, but what about when we get older and our bodies become larger?" Sakura asked before snuggling into his chest.

"That's something we can worry about later. Right now I had something else in mind that I was saving up money for." Naruto said deliberately. Sakura knew that tone. It was the same tone he used whenever he was planning a surprise for someone, be it a prank or a gift. Usually a prank.

"Oh yea...? What's that?"

"I don't wanna tell you. It's a secret." Naruto smiled.

"Oh come on...please...?" Sakura asked, using that look that Naruto could never refuse.

But his will was strong today (mostly because it was too dark to see) and he remained firm.

"Nope, you'll just have to wait for us to return to the Leaf." He said as he kissed her face.

"Aww..." Sakura pouted.

"You're going to love it. I just know you will." Naruto breathed as he began to drift off to sleep.

"I'll take...your word for it..." Sakura yawned before falling asleep.

* * *

The next thing the both of them knew was a loud knocking on their door.

"Sakura, get up, it's time to go!" Kakashi called.

Naruto and Sakura groggily opened their eyes, not even having realized that they had fallen asleep.

"Ugh...what time is it...?" Sakura groaned.

"It's 3 AM, time to go." Kakashi replied, anticipating her question.

"Alright!" Sakura called as she groggily sat up.

"Let's go, Naruto-kun..." Sakura yawned.

"Right you are, Sakura-chan." Naruto yawned back.

After a short while, everyone was packed and ready to go, the morning dew still accumulating on the grass and early rising birds chirping in the distance.

"Everyone packed with their armor tightened and their gear secured? We won't be stopping until later tonight." Kakashi reminded them.

"Yes Sensei." They all responded.

"Good. Let's move out." Kakashi said before vanishing into the forest. The rest of the ninjas all quickly followed behind him.

* * *

A few hours later, the woods suddenly got very thick and Shiekan ordered them to slow their pace.

"We have just set foot into the Lost Woods. We are now in the Hyrule inner border." Shiekan called out.

"Alright, we all hike from here on." Kakashi announced, much to the chagrin of the others.

"Neji, bring up the rear. Everyone else, single file." Kakashi ordered as he followed behind Shiekan.

Everyone got rearranged and followed Shiekan's lead.

"I have traveled these woods many times. This route will get us through the woods in about a day." Shiekan stated.

The Genin and Chunin all nodded in acknowledgement as every other one of them ate their meager meals of cooked sausage, block of cheese, and bread. Others still drank water from their canteens.

Hours later, they found themselves into the thicket of the woods, even the Byakugan users had a hard time seeing anything more than a couple hundred feet in any direction. Now they understood how people got lost here and never returned.

They were jolted out of their comfort when they heard a howling off in the distance.

"W-what was that...?" Ino asked nervously.

"Wolfos, probably." Shiekan informed.

"You mean wolves?" Kiba asked.

"No, Wolfos. Far deadlier than a common wolf. They stand about 6 feet tall and have long, razor sharp claws. Think of them as werewolves."

Sakura gulped. "A-are they coming for us...?"

"Not yet. That was a warning to us that we are nearing their territory."

"Is there a way to avoid them?" Kakashi asked.

"The whole woods are their territory, I'm afraid. So be on guard." Shiekan warned.

"So long as we don't try to challenge them we should be fine." Kiba spoke up.

"Wrong. They are very aggressive and will attack anything that moves."

"Anything?" Hinata asked.

"Anything." Shiekan confirmed.

"So be on your guard and keep a keen eye out for anything that moves." Kakashi warned.

Everyone drew a weapon and stayed alert, expecting anything.

Sakura put on her gloves that were a gift from Tsunade while Naruto unclipped and clipped his kunai holster.

They continued to press on, the sounds of the forest overwhelming their sense of hearing to where they couldn't even detect an enemy.

But Shiekan could detect everything in the woods just by sound.

After about another hour, Shiekan stilled, making the others stop.

"What is it?" Kakashi asked.

"We're being hunted..." Shiekan said darkly as he reached for his katana.

"By what?" Kakashi asked as he uncovered his Sharingan eye.

Shiekan paused to listen better. He could hear the clanging of metal, rattling of bones, and could sense a dark presence drawing closer to them with each passing moment. They were closing in fast.

"Stalfos! Take your positions!" Shiekan exclaimed before drawing out his katana.

Without giving them a moment to prepare, a small army of 8 foot skeletons, wearing armor, brandishing blood red swords and shields jumped out of the bushes, eyes glowing blood red and ready to kill.

"Oooohhh...shit..." Sakura said dreadfully.

The Stalfos army laughed evilly before charging.

"MOVE!" Shiekan ordered before jumping to dodge an incoming strike.

"Move?! What about attacking-GAH!" Kiba cried as he was blindsided by a sword stabbed right underneath his right shoulder guard. He jumped back in defense, but the damage was done. The rest of the Stalfos charged at the shinobi line with a fury of blade swipes.

"Ready explosive tags!" Kakashi ordered.

Naruto was about to get his ready when he noticed one of the skeletons lunging for Sakura. He jumped in between them and held up two kunai. He blocked the blade just before it hit his headband.

"Hold'em!" Sakura ordered before charging Chakra into her fist and slamming it into the Stalfos' chest, causing bones to shatter and fly everywhere.

"Woah!" Naruto exclaimed in awe. "H-how did you...when did you..."

"Lady Tsunade taught me." Sakura said simply.

Sakura then felt an electric shot of pain travel up her arm through her bones. She might have learned the technique, but she was far from mastering it.

"Damn..." Sakura hissed as she held her arm.

"Are you okay?" Naruto asked with concern.

"Yea, I'll be fine...just not used to using that is all."

"Sakura, Naruto, move!" Someone shouted as explosions ripped through the forest. Naruto clashed with one if the Stalfos before Sakura noticed a huge tree falling towards them.

"NARUTO LOOK OUT!" Sakura shouted and dove in to move him out of the way.

The two of them collided and rolled out of the way of the tree that fell on the Stalfos.

As they rolled, they rolled down a steep hill away from the battle. Their roll came to a sudden stop when they hit against a boulder hard.

"Ack! Damn it!" Naruto cried as he slumped against the rock. Sakura was no better off, having fallen flat on her back against the rock.

"Aaah! Fuck!" Sakura exclaimed in pain.

"Shit...that really hurt." Naruto groaned.

"I... I think I broke something..." Sakura hissed as she felt her ribs. "Yup...ooow..."

"Oh crap, Sakura-chan." Naruto said as he tried to get up to help her, only to learn that he had sprained his ankle something fierce and fell to his knees.

"Damn it..."

"Yea...we're out of commission for a bit..." Sakura groaned before she looked around. "Uh oh...uh...where are we?"

"We're just down the hill from where the rest of the guys are." Naruto said as he looked back up where he thought he'd see a recently fallen over tree trunk, but the arrangement of trees seemed to have changed.

"I can't even hear anything. Shit..."

"Yeah, hold on, I'm gonna check it out." Naruto said as he forced himself to stand.

"No, sit down." Sakura said firmly

"I'll be right back, I promise. I won't even leave your sight." Naruto stated.

"Not with that ankle you're not. Not until I check it out."

"Seriously Sakura, it's just a sprain. Focus on your own ribs first. I'll be back in a flash." Naruto smiled reassuringly.

"Fine..." Sakura sighed.

Naruto smiled before he turned to limp up the steep hill. He kept his grimaces to a minimum to avoid worrying Sakura, but she knew.

He made his way to the top so that he could see over the edge and saw no one and nothing that looked familiar. No signs of battle and no Stalfos to be seen. He was about to take a few steps forward to search the area, but a voice in the back of his head told him that this would be exactly how he'd get separated from Sakura. And he turned back to slide down the hill.

"Aaaaand we're lost." Naruto declared.

"Great...on another note, I have 4 broken ribs. Luckily, none of them are life threatening. They just hurt like hell." Sakura said as she did her best to heal her ribs.

"How long will it take for you to heal?" Naruto asked as he lifted his busted ankle off the ground.

"A few minutes at most."

"A few minutes? You picked up on your medical training fast." Naruto said in awe.

"If I was as good at it as Lady Tsunade, it would be instant. But, it usually takes me about 5 minutes, 10 tops."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Naruto asked.

"Not really...well, I am thirsty."

"Ah." Naruto said as he reached behind himself to pull out a canteen with a hole in it.

"Damn...and I dropped mine somewhere."

"Shit, hold on." Naruto said as he unveiled one of his sealing scrolls and produced a large collapsible jug of water. "Always gotta be prepared."

"God I love you..." Sakura smiled.

"I love you too." Naruto said as handed Sakura the water that was to be used to boil their food that evening.

Sakura popped the top off and started drinking, a little bit of water trailing down her cheek which Naruto found absolutely hot.

"Hey, uh...out of curiosity, why didn't you have a crush on Sasuke like all of the other girls?" Naruto asked, which made Sakura do a spit take.

"That's kind of an odd and random question to ask in this situation." Sakura sputtered.

"R-right...sorry..."

Sakura sighed. "Um...where to begin...I mean, yea, he is a pretty face, but in the end that's all he was. He was always sulking, plotting, stewing in his desire to become stronger. I mean, yea he had a tragic turn of events in his life, but to dwell on it for revenge is just pointless."

"I mean, a lot of girls found that attractive didn't they?" Naruto asked.

"Yea, but not me. Probably because you grew on me so much...and... I had already been crushing on you honestly..." Sakura blushed.

"Seriously? For how long?" Naruto inquired.

"A couple years...honestly, I just tried to dismiss those feelings considering we were practically raised as brother and sister. but...when mom...died...you were there for me and you cried right along with me...not Ino, not Sasuke, you...and I think that is what opened my mind and eyes to the possibility of us being together. You've always been there for me as I have for you. I... knew from that moment on that you were the one who mattered most in my life."

Sakura paused to wipe away a few stray tears. "Just before mom died, she said that she was proud of us. Remember when she said that we could be something more than just friends? I think this is what she meant..." Then she sighed. "You weren't there for the reading of her will, but she had a request for the both of us."

"What's that?"

"She said...that she wanted the two of us to live happily together, till the end of our days. At first I thought she just meant that as our friendship, but now...now I believe she wanted us to be together as a couple. I believe she could see it coming long before we did."

"Your mom always was a smart woman. That's where you get it, I'd always say."

"Yeah, you do." Sakura chuckled before pulling her hand away from her ribs. "That should do for now. Now let me see that ankle of yours and we can get going...somewhere."

"Sure thing." Naruto said as he held out his ankle.

* * *

Meanwhile, some unknown distance away, the rest of the platoon led by Kakashi and Shiekan had finished off the most of the Stalfos and fled from the rest. Now they were regrouping near a stream. Kakashi looked around and saw that everyone had bruises and cuts that they were nursing. Yet something seemed off.

"Everyone, sound off!" Kakashi ordered.

"Team Asuma all present." Shikamaru stated.

"Team Kurenai accounted for." Shino informed.

"Team Gai all here." Lee announced.

He waited for either Naruto or Sakura to call out, but heard nothing.

"Where's Naruto and Sakura?" Kakashi demanded.

"I don't see them here. They must be lost." Shiekan said.

"Then we go find them." Kakashi stated firmly.

"You can't. Once they are lost, they're lost for good." Shiekan said.

"What? We can't just-" Ino spoke up, trying to protest, but Shiekan would have none of it.

"In any case, we have our own problems to worry about. Everyone set up camp, but don't wander off too far!" Shiekan ordered as he kicked aside a patch of wet leaves to make a hole for a fire pit.

"What are you doing?" Kakashi demanded. "We have to go looking for them!"

"We can't." Shiekan said as he pointed at the setting sun on the horizon. "Night is falling and we've lost our way. If we go traveling in the dark, we most certainly will get lost or attacked by Wolfos or something worse." Shiekan warned as he worked furiously to build a fire out of whatever material was close to hand.

"But what about Naruto and Sakura?" Shikamaru asked.

"If they're smart, they'll stay put and build a fire. Fire keeps the worst terrors in this forest at bay. We can try and search for them tomorrow, but after that it's out of our hands." Shiekan said as he striked his flint and steel together.

"That's not good enough!" Kakashi exclaimed.

"Well, its gonna have to be. At least for now." Shiekan stated.

"Those are MY pupils out there dammit! I will not let them go just because-"

"Don't think for a second that you're the only one who has lost a pupil to these woods, Kakashi!" Shiekan snapped, making the silver haired Jounin stop. "I've lost 8 pupils to these woods over the course of 50 years! A few of which I had to KILL when I found them because their minds were corrupted by the dark forces...so don't think for a second that you're alone in this!"

"So then why stop me?"

"Because I can't allow you to get lost either. You don't know these woods and neither do they. I pray they can make it out alive, but searching now is suicide. If you go, then I have to be the one to explain to not only the king but Lady Tsunade as well why I let a Jounin of the Leaf go missing in these woods. And I can't bring these kids to the king without their Jounin leader."

Kakashi tightened his fist. He knew that Shiekan was right, but they were still his pupils damn it. He had promised the 3rd Hokage and Sakuri that he would protect the children. Yet he had let them out of his sight and now they could be dead or reduced to madness.

Shiekan sighed. "If you must, create some Shadow Clones and have them go searching for the young ones."

"Right." Kakashi said as he made his limit of 3 Shadow Clones and sent them out to search. He then slumped down against a tree. "Damn it..."

Over with Shiekan, a fire began to emerge. The soft crackling and the orange glow enveloped the shinobi as they dug out their sleeping bags and dry meals. Shikamaru looked down at his feet and saw the shadows from the trees seeming to creep closer and closer. It reminded him of his father's Shadow Strangulation Jutsu, and how it made him think that the shadows were trying suffocate them all to death.


	6. Chapter 6

Naruto and Sakura had been wandering around for a few hours, for there was no other way to travel through the Lost Woods, which had certainly earned its name in the eyes of the young shinobi.

It shouldn't be possible for any place to be so unruly, but the forest seemed determined never to be a victim of reason. The two shinobi needed only to pass by a tree to have all the landmarks rearrange themselves without them even noticing until it was too late. Their hopes of finding their teammates became replaced with the hope of finding the end of this forest, and even that was wearing thin.

"Naruto?" Sakura asked out of the blue.

"Yeah, Sakura-chan?"

"We need to stop. This is getting us nowhere." Sakura said sadly, finally giving in to the inevitable.

"Yeah, you're right." Naruto sighed, for he too was running on the fumes of hope for finding their squad.

He helped Sakura sit down on a nearby knocked over tree. Sakura sighed as she took her sandals off and massaged her swollen ankle. Naruto took that opportunity to strip the surrounding trees for fire wood and had a small flame going inside of five minutes.

The two sat by the fire and pulled out their evening rations to quietly eat. Neither one of them felt like talking. Getting lost and separated from their squad felt like a complete and total failure on their part.

"Well this sucks." Naruto said as he finished building the fire and plopped down right next to Sakura.

"Tell me about it." Sakura sighed while watching the fire. Its flickering light seemed to be the only thing keeping the darkness at bay. Her thoughts were interrupted by Naruto's yawn.

"I'll tell you about it tomorrow. I'm pooped and we can't go anywhere until dawn." Naruto yawned. Now Sakura couldn't help but yawn as well.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea." Sakura said, feeling her eyelids turn heavy. "Tomorrow…we'll wake up and we'll…(yawn)…get out of here…" She sighed, lulling herself to sleep.

"Yeah…goodnight…" Naruto whispered.

"Zzzzz…" Sakura replied as they both drifted off.

Soon Naruto curled up next to her and fell asleep as well, unaware of a pair of glowing red eyes watching them from a nearby bush.

"Soon..." The figure growled quietly before vanishing into the night.

Unkept by the two sleeping shinobi, the fire soon faded into embers which faded into smoke. The pop and crack of the fire was replaced with the croaks of frogs and the songs of crickets.

Sakura meanwhile was having a wonderful dream. She dreamed she was a princess of a foreign land whose hand had been sought for marriage by all the princes and nobles from a thousand miles around. She stood atop a private box in a glamorous stadium she recognized as the Chunin Stadium back in the Leaf and watched as a hundred brave warriors fought in the arena below for her hand. Some were fast, some were strong, many were skilled, but none of them could compare to the knight in green. Princess Sakura looked down upon him as he dashed throughout the chaotic mob of combatants, fighting men twice his size two or three at a time. They would swing their mighty weapons and lunge at him with their fists, but his white blade seemed to cut through them all like butter. He dodged or blocked every attack thrown at him. His skills were so impressive that Princess Sakura could not help but cheer him on. She clapped in approval and just like that, the green knight stood alone in the middle of the arena, having vanquished all his foes.

Princess Sakura stood up from her chair in her royal box and found herself standing right in front of the green knight. He was taller than her by at least a foot, almost intimidatingly so. Yet Sakura did not fear this man, for she knew in her heart that he would protect her. The man sheathed his white sword and grasped his helmet. Princess Sakura held her breath as the man of her dreams lifted his head to reveal to her his handsome face, yet just as the helmet was up to the man's chin, she could hear music playing. She tried to think nothing of it, but the music became louder and more distracting as the helmet was raised up higher, up to the green knight's nose and his smooth featureless cheeks, until Sakura could tolerate the music no longer and awoke.

Her eyes opened to a pitch-black forest ceiling above her and the sensation of Naruto leaning against her side. Sakura wiped away the sleep from her eyes and nudged at her best friend/boyfriend.

"Naruto...Naruto...wake up." She hissed, still hearing the music that had awoken her.

"Huh, what? I'm up." Naruto said, springing to and upright sitting position.

"Do you hear that?" Sakura asked.

"I think so. Is that a flute?"

"Some kind of flute, yes...I think this is a tunnel." Sakura said as she just noticed their surroundings. Their log and campfire were gone, replaced with what looked like a narrow cave made of tree branches and leaves. Down one end, they could see a bright and inviting light. Down the other, a kind of chilling darkness.

"A tunnel? When did we get inside a tunnel? We were just in a forest."

"I don't know, but we might find a settlement on the other side." Sakura deduced.

They entered the apparent tunnel and slowly made their way through it, not knowing what they would find. As they ventured through, the light grew brighter and the music louder. They were filled with hope that they had found a settlement.

As they began to exit the tunnel, they found exactly what they were hoping to find. It was a small village that was populated by...children? They all wore green outfits of some kind or another and their houses looked like large tree houses. They could point out a small waterfall that the run off was collected into a pond.

"Sakura-chan, I think we just stumbled upon Neverland." Naruto said in awe. This village looked exactly like something out of the fairytales that Sakuri used to tell them when they were young.

"Mmmm...I don't think so. But let's find out where we are." Sakura suggested.

Naruto nodded and the two of them entered the village.

They both hopped down off the Cliffside and into the center of the village, where the children stopped their playing and music to see the newcomers.

"Hey! Who the heck are you?" One boy demanded who had orange hair and a gruff stance.

"Um...I'm Sakura and this is Naruto. We got separated from our group in the woods and was hoping you could tell us where we are."

"Hmph...You're in the Kokiri forest." The boy stated. "I'm Mido, the leader of the Kokiri."

"The leader? Where are all your parents?" Sakura asked.

"Parents? What parents?" Mido asked.

"What do you mean what parents? Your parents. The ones who take care of you guys." Sakura said.

"We take care of ourselves." Mido stated.

"Mido, I don't think they know what we are." A girl with green hair stated.

Mido looked at her and then back at the two before him. "Yea, I think you're right, Saria." He said before addressing them. "We Kokiri are always as you see us. We stop aging after 12 years old and have been here for a very long time."

"Woah..." Naruto said in awe.

"So... wait a minute. You have no parents, you stop aging around 12 years old...and you've been here a very long time. How long is a very long time?" Sakura wondered.

"I believe the Great Deku Tree said over 2 thousand years." Saria stated.

"Nev-er-land..." Naruto whispered in Sakura's ear.

"That doesn't sound too farfetched at this point." Sakura replied.

"Do you guys need a place to stay?" Saria offered.

"What?! We don't know them and we don't know where they came from. They look nothing like us!" Mido exclaimed.

"Please help us. We got separated from our group. We don't know how to get out of the forest. If you won't take us in that's fine, but if you could help us get to Hyrule castle, that would be more than helpful." Naruto begged.

"The way to Hyrule Field is through that tunnel." Mido pointed to a different tunnel than where they came from.

"Where do you come from anyway?" Saria asked.

"We come from the Land of Fire a thousand miles southeast of here." Sakura replied.

The children's eyes went wide and started murmuring amongst themselves.

"You came that far...?" Mido asked in awe.

"We did. We're on a mission to help the royal family. We came to act as their body guards." Naruto said.

"Come on, Mido. at least let them stay the night." Saria pressed.

Mido sighed. "Very well...you can stay for the night only."

"Thank you." Sakura bowed respectfully, as did Naruto.

"Saria, take them to Link's old place." Mido said before leaving the group.

"Come on guys. This way." Saria said before leading them to said house.

The village was small in Kokiri, no bigger than the market Square back in the Leaf. They arrived at Link's house in no time and the mood instantly became more somber, as if the house itself was projecting negative thoughts.

"This was Link's old house..." Saria said sadly.

"I see. I hope you don't mind me asking, but did something happen to him?" Sakura asked.

"We don't know." Saria said sadly.

"The Great Deku tree sent him off on a quest a few months ago and we've not heard from him since. Then the Deku tree died. We fear the worst."

"I'm so sorry to hear that. We're you two close?" Sakura asked as sympathetically as she could.

"He...he was my closest friend..." Saria choked out.

Sakura gasped, Saria was just like her when it came to Naruto. She couldn't help but hug the poor girl.

"Thank you..." Saria said softly.

"It's nothing. I can't imagine what it'd be like if I lost Naruto." Sakura whispered.

"Are...you and Naruto close?" saria asked.

"Um...yea. We're actually dating." Sakura blushed.

"Wow, you're so lucky. I never got the chance with Link." Saria admitted sadly.

"Ooohh...I'm so sorry to hear that...is there anything we can do? Maybe we could look for him."

Saria's face lit up. "That would be amazing if you could do that. Not just for me, but for all of us."

"Then consider it done." Naruto smiled, which made Saria blush.

"Well then let me show you inside." Saria said quickly as she opened the curtain into the darkened house.

"How long did you say he was gone?" Sakura asked.

"Several years. Eight I think. I wanted to go out and search for Link, but Mido forbade it." Saria said angrily.

"8 years...? Oh man...well, we'll certainly try to find him regardless." Sakura assured.

"Could he have aged outside of this village or do you all remain this age no matter what?" Naruto asked.

"No, he wasn't Kokiri. He was a Hylian. Which means he wasn't bound by the age reduction like we are." Saria informed.

"What? Then why was he living in your village?" Sakura asked.

"Well...that's a long story."

"Well we have time." Sakura said as she walked over to the bed, only to feel a shooting pain go up her ribs.

"You see about 12 years before he disappeared on his journey he was brought here as a baby and the arms of what seems to be his mother. Outside of the forest there was a massive war raging and she got caught in the middle of it. She brought Link to the forest in order to protect him but sadly she died from her injuries. We took him in and raised him as best we could. We knew then that he wasn't truly one of us, but aside from Mido, we all treated him like he was one of us." Saria explained.

"So you raised him like your son?" Naruto said.

"Son?" Saria asked. "Oh, I know what you mean. I really didn't have much involvement in that simply because Mido forbade me to interact with him."

"Why you specifically?" Sakura asked.

Saria grumbled. "Mido has this thing where he thinks I'm his girlfriend and I'm not."

"He decided that when Link was a baby?" Naruto asked.

"No, he's...always been like that."

"Oh, he thinks you are his...never mind." Naruto said.

"Yea, and it gets on my nerves. I don't even like him."

"But you do like Link." Sakura whispered.

"...can we change the subject, please?" Saria asked.

"Sure thing." Sakura said, trying not to be like Ino. Saria sighed to recompose herself.

"Anyway, so, I'm afraid this is the only bed. I can try to find more blankets and an extra pillow if one of you would like to sleep on the floor."

"I think we'll manage. Thank you so much for taking us in." Sakura said.

"Of course. If you need anything else, I live right next door."

"Thank you. By any chance do you guys have some food?" Naruto asked.

"Um...there is some fish you can catch in the pond."

"I'll take care of that. Sakura-chan, you rest up." Naruto ordered.

"Alright..." Sakura sighed before working on using her mystic palm to heal her ribs more.

"Have you ever been night fishing, Naruto?"

"No, I don't think I have. Not here anyway." Naruto said.

"Well it's a lot like day time fishing, only darker." Saria teased.

"I never would have guessed." Naruto deadpanned. Saria laughed and they made their way outside and towards the pond.

"In all seriousness, you do know how to fish, right?"

"Well, yea of course I do."

"Good. The fish here are kind of nocturnal, so you shouldn't have too much trouble tempting one with a midnight snack. Here; use my spare rod." Saria offered.

"I don't use a rod." Naruto said before pulling out a Kunai.

"What's that for?" Saria asked.

"This is how a ninja fishes." Naruto grinned before walking on top of the water to get a good view.

Saria gasped. "You...can walk on water...?"

"Yup." Naruto smirked back at Saria before returning his focus back to the fish lazily swimming beneath the water's surface.

He found a good size one and in a swift motion, threw his kunai at the fish, making a direct hit. The now dead fish floated up to the surface where Naruto promptly picked it up and pulled his kunai from it.

"You made it look so simple..." Saria said in awe.

"Heh, years of training." Naruto bragged as he threw two more kunai into the pond and up floated two more deliciously fat fish.

"Wow...I've never seen anyone catch fish like that before." Saria said in awe.

"Well it's all in the wrist, ya know." Naruto smiled. "You want one?"

"Yes, please." Saria smiled.

Naruto threw her the biggest fish that he had caught before throwing two more kunai into the water and catching his fourth and fifth fish.

Saria looked at the rather large fish before seeing Naruto pick up the other two. Then she saw it. Just barely visible, was his glowing seal of the Triforce and she gasped loudly.

"What's that?" She asked, pointing to the seal glowing through the bandages on his hand.

"What?" Naruto looked at what she was pointing to and shrugged. "That appeared on my hand 8 years ago. Sakura-chan as well, but like mine, one of the triangles is lit, but in different spots."

Saria looked on in awe. _'So... the legends are true...Link had that as well and... oh no...'_ Saria thought. "Do you have any idea what that is?"

"Not really. I know it's the symbol of this country and my sensei told me not to show it off, but the cats out if the bag now and I feel like I can trust you." Naruto said.

"I know what it is and what it means..." Saria said seriously.

"What?"

"It's best that you come back to the house. Sakura needs to hear this too."

"Um, okay..." Naruto said, feeling weary at the moment at the abrupt change of pace.

Saria led Naruto back to Link's house, where Sakura had her top off and was bandaging her ribs.

"Oh hey. Looks like you got yourself a nice haul." Sakura greeted as she finished tying on her bandages.

"We need to talk about something very important." Saria said seriously.

"Um, okay... Jeez, so serious all of a sudden." Sakura said as she slipped her shirt back on.

"I saw the seal on Naruto's hand. He tells me you have the same one."

"Naruto...what did our sensei tell us about these symbols literally two days ago?" Sakura growled.

"I-it's not my fault! She saw it glowing through my bandages!" Naruto defended.

"I did. There is a very significant importance about them that you need to know." Saira confirmed.

"Like what?" Sakura said as she sat up on the bed.

"This is the symbol of the Triforce. It is said that anyone who possesses this mark on the backs of their hands are said to be imbued with the power of the goddesses, the ones who created the Triforce. It seems you two have been chosen by the goddesses and have been given their power. Naruto, you possess the Triforce of Courage. Sakura, you possess the Triforce of Wisdom. With these powers, you have been selected to bring balance back to our world."

The two shinobi stared at the elf girl for a few moments, contemplating this bombshell that had been dropped upon them.

"Bullcrap." Sakura said.

"It's not. I know of the legends that the Great Deku tree has told me. Only those chosen by the goddesses would have this. Ever have an instance where you had a sudden surge of unexplainable power?"

"What power? All its ever done is glow whenever Naruto and I get close to one another." Sakura said.

"I've noticed..." Naruto spoke up. "Anytime you'd be put in a corner, you had a sudden surge of light surround you and you quickly defeated anyone who was threatening you. But you would pass out the very next moment."

"Yes, which leads me to you, Sakura." Saria said as she looked closely at Sakura, close enough to make the girl uncomfortable.

"It's rare enough for the barer of the Triforce of Courage to be born outside of Hyrule, but it is unheard of for the Triforce of Wisdom to be born outside of the royal line of Hyrulian Princesses." She said as she took Sakura's right hand.

"W-what are you saying?" Sakura stuttered.

"How is it that you were blessed with this particular Triforce?"

That's when Naruto's eyes went wide. "Are you saying that Sakura-chan is a princess? Like a real life princess?"

"Of course not you idiot!" Sakura exclaimed. "I can't be a princess. I was born in the Leaf. My mother was a Chunin and then a seamstress. You know that."

"It is also impossible." Saria said.

"How so?" Naruto asked.

"The King of Hyrule only has one daughter. Princess Zelda, who already bares the Triforce of Wisdom." Saria stated.

"Then why do I have it?" Sakura asked.

"I don't know. I was hoping you'd tell me. There can only be one bearer of each Triforce shard and Link had...the Triforce of courage...that means he's..." Saria choked out as she nearly let loose her tears.

"Well maybe there are two." Naruto suggested quickly. Hoping to spare Saria's feelings.

"No... there can't be two bearers of the same shard...only one of each..."

"Says who? You said that the Triforces only appear during times of great need. Well maybe this time the gods sent two of each kind because the evil was twice as bad." Naruto rationed.

"It... may be..." Saria said, clinging to the last vestige of hope.

"So... we're chosen by the gods to do their bidding essentially...what would that be?" Naruto asked.

"To stop the man who holds the Triforce of power...Ganondorf."

"But our mission is to protect the royal family while the King's armies fight Ganondorf and his forces. That is why we are here." Sakura stated.

"Well it might not be your destiny to fight Ganondorf. If Link is still alive. Your shards might be fake." Saria suggested.

"And the powers associated with them? That's not fake at all." Naruto pointed out.

"Yes, that is true...anyway, at least you know what they are."

"So what are we supposed to do with that information?" Naruto asked.

"Find out more about them. There is a good chance that the powers you have can be useful in the future." Saria said.

"Well we need to rejoin our platoon first and fulfill our duty as shinobi. Maybe then we can work out how to deal with this so called destiny." Sakura said.

"Agreed." Saria said.

The three then got to work cooking up the meal Naruto had caught in the tree hut's fireplace.

"Ow, dammit..." Sakura hissed when she felt a twinge in her ribs.

"Are you alright?" Saria asked.

"Not really...we took a tumble down a hill and I broke a few ribs. They hurt like hell..."

"I could bring you some potions for the pain." Saria offered.

"Potions? Yea that would be great." Sakura nodded.

"I'll be right back." Saria said as she exited the house with haste.

"So, what are your thoughts about what she said?" Sakura asked.

"Dunno. Never really saw these marks as anything but a link to you before today. Now out of nowhere they're something trying us to save a kingdom we've never been too... It's a lot to take in." Naruto admitted.

"True, but it does answer a lot of questions, but opens a book to new questions. Like what powers do we have? Why were we chosen and not somebody else?"

"I don't know. But I think I know where we can find some answers." Naruto said.

"The castle?"

"Yup. Saria said that Princess Zelda already has the Triforce of Wisdom like yours. If anyone knows for certain what is going on with these symbols, I'll bet they're in that castle. Plus, all our friends should be headed there right now." Naruto rationed.

"I don't think so. Knowing them, they're probably out looking for us once they realize we're gone."

"Not if they're smart. It's the Lost Woods remember? They'd probably head out to Hyrule castle in the hopes that we'd find our own way out of the forest and meet them there. Either way it's our best chance of finding them."

"I just hope you're right..." Sakura sighed.

"Me too." Naruto said as he turned over the fish to better cook on the other side.

"You think you'll be good to travel tomorrow?" He asked.

"Hard to tell...It hurts pretty bad." Sakura said.

"If it was just your leg or your arm I could carry you. But this...we might have to wait a couple of days." Naruto sighed.

"We'll see when she comes back with that potion."

"Yeah. You got any soy sauce in your pack? I'm all out."

"Um...I might hold on." Sakura looked through her pack but came up empty. "Nope, got nothing."

"Darn. What about any kind of seasoning? This fish'll be bland otherwise."

"Just salt."

"It'll have to do." Naruto resigned himself.

"Alright." Sakura tossed him the container of salt to season the fish.

"Hey, I'm back." Saria said as she entered the house. "I have two different kinds. Blue and Red."

"Um what's the difference? Are they cherry and blueberry flavor?" Naruto asked.

"The red restores life energy and heals wounds, the blue does that and restores energy and stamina."

"So then the blue is clearly better." Naruto said.

Saria nodded and handed a bottle full of the blue potion to Sakura.

"Bottoms up." Sakura said as she drank the potion.

She gagged for a moment because it tasted so awful, but she did feel her pain leave her and her energy returning. She drank about half before setting it down.

"Blech! Nasty..."

"Well, how do you feel?" Naruto asked.

"Um..." Sakura began to move around and felt no pain at all. "A lot better actually. This doesn't have any side effects, does it?"

"I would hope not. This is all herbal." Saria informed.

"I see. Thank you, Saria." Sakura replied.

"Anytime." Saria smiled and then sniffed the air. "Smells like those fish are doing quite well, but it seems to be missing some seasonings."

"Please tell me you have some. We're down to only salt." Naruto begged.

"Link had a ton. Let's see what's still good." Saria said before searching through the shelf of spices, making the two ninja face palm. Why didn't they think of that?

"Oregano, parsley, garlic, cumin, black pepper, basil...allspice...um...I think that's it. Oh and ginger."

"Ooh, give it here." Naruto said eagerly.

Saria stepped aside for Naruto to check out all of the spices, earning a big grin from the blond.

"Think I might be able to whip something up. Make these pond caught fish taste like a 5-star meal." Naruto declared.

"That is what you do best." Sakura stated.

Naruto smirked as he took out a bowl and began mixing the spices. Years of invites over to the Haruno's for breakfast, lunch, and dinner without ever officially being Sakuri's son made Naruto want to repay the two women. So he worked on his cooking skills to bake for Sakura and her mother a meal every once in a while, as payment. The end result was that the boy could cook. With a capital C-O-O-K.

Once he was done mixing his concoction he took a whiff of the seasoning and smiled. He took the seasoning and sprinkled over the five fishes like some fancy master chef.

"Mmm...that smells good." Sakura said, eager to eat the fish.

"It's gonna taste even better." Naruto declared as he took off the fish from the fire.

He handed one to Sakura who just drooled. "You outdid yourself this time, Naruto-kun." She said joyfully.

"Wow, this really does look good." Saria agreed.

Sakura took the first bite after letting it cool off and her face lit up. "It's so good! It's just like mom's!" Sakura squealed.

"Heh, not as good I'd say, but thank you for the praise." Naruto said as he handed Saria her fish.

"Taste it for yourself. I think it's pretty damn good. You outdid yourself babe." Sakura said without realizing what she said. Then it hit her and she blushed. "U-ummm..."

"I think I will...babe." Naruto smirked as he took a bite of the fish while looking at Sakura in the eyes.

 _'Alright then...'_ Sakura thought. She never thought she'd ever call him that, but he seemed to accepted it with pride.

"Oh god damn, that is good." Naruto said happily before scarfing it down.

"Oh yum! I never had a fish taste so good!" Saria beamed.

"He learned from our mom." Sakura pointed out.

"Wait...you two have the same mother?" Saria asked in shock.

"Well...no. Naruto here was an orphan and due to certain...laws...she couldn't really adopt him legally. But she did make him part of the family as it were. I never knew my father and I'm an only child. We're not blood related." Sakura explained.

"We're not related at all, but we did grow up together." Naruto smiled.

"Well, that explains why you two are so close." Saria deduced.

"Yup." Naruto said as he took a big chunk off of his fish.

After a short while, they finished their gourmet meal of lovely seasoned fish.

"That was really good. It's a shame you couldn't stay longer. We would all love a meal that good." Saria said happily.

"We would if we could, but we've got our duties as shinobi to fulfill." Sakura said.

"You'll at least stay the night, right?" Saria begged.

"Yea, we still need to get our bearings here. So we'll stay." Sakura said.

"Awesome! Well, I'll see you in the morning then." Saria cheered before skipping away to her house.

Naruto yawned as he stretched his arms.

"Welp, nothing else to do I suppose." He said.

"Yea, let's go to bed. I'm tired." Sakura yawned and uncovered the bed she was sitting on. "Huh...surprisingly clean after 8 years."

"I guess I'll take the floor." Naruto said.

"Oh no you're not. You're sleeping with me." Sakura said firmly as she removed her shirt to adjust her bandages.

"Alright then. Need help?"

"Actually, yes. Its caught on something in the back, can you help me?"

"Um, sure thing..." He said nervously.

He looked around to her back and saw that it was stuck in her bra straps. "Uh...I found the problem."

"Well? What is it?" Sakura asked.

"It's ah...caught on your bra strap..." Naruto said, growing nervous.

"Okay? Well, take it off."

Naruto choked. "Y-you want me to what?"

"Take my bra off so I can get these bandages off." Sakura reiterated, growing impatient.

"Y-y-you...really want me to do that...?" Naruto stammered.

"Oh for Sages sake...it's not like I have anything you haven't seen."

"It's something I've never done before... Undress you."

"Yea, well...don't get used to it. There's a hook in the center strap going across my back. Unhook that and I'll take care of the rest."

"R-right..." Naruto said as he carefully tried to fumble with the hook. After an entire minute he deduced that it was trickier than it looked.

"Having issues?" Sakura asked.

"Nope... I've almost... Damn it..." He cursed.

"Here... let me help." Sakura took her left arm and her hand met with his. She guided his fingers to the correct spot. "Now...bring both ends closer together and it should come undone."

The hook came undone and Sakura could feel her bra loosen. "See? Not that hard."

"Sorry, guess I was a little nervous..." He said as he got an eyeful of Sakura's bare back, completely void of any bras or bikini strings. Something he hadn't seen since they were both very young and taking baths together. No wait...they did take a bath together recently and he hadn't felt this way. Why was that? The setting maybe? Things were definitely a lot more...private now.

"Um...can you help me with the shoulder straps? I'm having a hard time moving my right arm."

"Sure thing." Naruto said as his hands slowly moved up Sakura's back to her shoulders.

Sakura couldn't help but let loose a small gasp of pleasure from his touch. Something she never really felt before, but she was enjoying it. She felt him move her straps down and she was able to take her bra off, but it was still snagged on the bandages.

She could feel Naruto removing the bandages from her torso while nipping at her neck. She had no idea what got into him, but it felt...sooo good...

"N-Naruto-kun...what...what are you doing...?" Sakura breathed out.

 _'Think of something cool. Think of something cool. Think of something cool.'_ He repeated in his head.

"Having desert." He said.

 _'Nailed it.'_

Sakura giggled. "Well, whatever it is you're doing, don't stop...it feels...really good..."

"Never...you're sweeter than cake." He whispered as he kissed her neck again.

He undid the bandages in the front and her torso was now bare, accidentally brushing up against her left breast.

Sakura gasped again, then moaned a little. His touch felt so good.

"Sorry..." Naruto whispered.

"Do it...again..." She breathed.

Naruto was surprised, but smiled. "As you command..." He said as he reached around her to cup her none existent breast again.

Sakura moaned softly, this feeling she was having was driving her senses wild. But something in the back of her mind was screaming at her to stop this.

"N-Naruto...we...shouldn't be doing this..."

"Why...?" He said breathlessly, for all the excitement was getting him worked up too.

"It's...too soon for this...we're not old enough to be doing this..."

"Who cares? We're here now, with no one else around, why can't we just do what feels good? That's what we've always done. Just the two of us..." He breathed.

"Naruto...please...this feels wrong..."

Naruto opened his eyes that neither of them saw were slit like an animal's before blinking them away, then he realized where his hands were.

"Oh my God, Sakura-chan! I'm so sorry!" He exclaimed as he jumped back.

"It's okay...maybe in a few years we can do this, but not right now. Okay?" Sakura smiled softly.

"I could have hurt you. I'd never meant to..." He muttered to himself, only to be silenced by Sakura hugging him from behind.

"You could never hurt me. You hear me? Never." Sakura soothed him.

 _'Except when you take my virginity, but that's a few years away yet.'_ Sakura thought to herself.

 _'You know it actually doesn't have to hurt.'_ Inner Sakura thought.

 _'What do you mean?'_

 _'You don't remember Tsunade's little "special lesson?" Obviously yes because I'm telling you, but the point is that if you simply go slow and are completely relaxed with a partner you trust your first time can be a purely enjoyable experience.'_ Inner thought.

 _'Oh yea, I forgot about that...was I wrong to stop this? It just felt...sooo good...I really didn't want to stop.'_

 _'You've just barely started growing hair down there. And you two might have grown up together while being joined at the hip, but this is another matter entirely. Just play it slow for now and watch him mature into a full grown man before long.'_ Inner advised.

 _'Yea...you're right.'_

 _'Damn right I'm right. Now go spoon your future husband.'_

 _'With pleasure.'_ Sakura replied before Sakura laid them both down on the bed.

"Now you listen to me...don't think for a second that you could ever hurt me. I know you won't. So stop being so hard on yourself, okay?" Sakura soothed.

"I'll try...it's just with you...you matter more than anyone else, you know?" Naruto said.

"I know. And you matter more to me than anyone else. You're all I have left. I mean, Yea I have Ino, but without you in my life, it just feels empty."

"I know. Gods do I know..." Naruto said as he pulled Sakura in close where he could always protect her and feel protected by her.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note from Panda: Sorry we haven't updated this story in a while. You all know how it goes on this site. Life, love, and other stories get in the way and publishing for this story falls to the wayside in favor of another. So I hope you enjoy it when Naruto and Sakura's journey to save Hyrule begins in ernest with the first dungeon. Deku Dungeon.**

* * *

Morning did not come pleasantly for the Leaf ninjas forced to camp out in the Lost Woods. Shiekan had insisted on two ninjas being awake at all times for the night watch. The fire was to be kept burning brightly no matter what and the threat of being attacked by monsters was more real than ever.

Above all of this, Kakashi had practically forgotten his position as Jounin Platoon leader. He would spend the entire night sending out more and more Shadow Clones to try and find his pupils. None discovered so much as a footprint. It was like the two had vanished.

Come daybreak the mood was somber as the children ate their meager breakfast of dry crackers with beef jerky.

They had to move out soon, yet Kakashi was still preoccupied with finding his students. Shiekan sighed as he stood up to go talk to the Jounin. They would have to make a decision soon.

"Kakashi?" Shiekan asked. "We have to move out soon."

"You can take them. I'm staying." Kakashi stated firmly.

"No you're not. You have a mission to fulfil and three teams of Genin to lead. They need you more than your two pupils do."

"Then I'm transferring my command to Shikamaru. I'm not leaving my pupils here to die."

"Kakashi, I forbid it!" Shiekan ordered as he stood right in front of the Leaf Jounin.

"You'll never find them out in the forest. Your Shadow Clones have been searching all night for them and haven't found hide nor hair." Shiekan argued.

"What would you have me do?! Leave them behind?!" Kakashi shouted.

"I'd have you trust them. They're skilled ninjas. We all know it. Let them find their own way out of the forest. They'll meet us back at Hyrule castle and we won't have to risk losing our Jounin leader."

"Well you're going to have to. I've made up my mind."

Shiekan sighed. There was just no use arguing with the man. He could see it in his eyes. Yet even as experienced and revered as the Copy Cat Ninja was, it seems he was still green in some areas and would have to learn them on this mission.

"If that is your decision. Then I'll have to take charge of the young'uns."

"Actually, I want to put Shikamaru in charge of the other Genin."

"You know what I meant. These children need a more experienced leader. Not a newly promoted Chunin."

"He's the smartest of our group and, like his father, is an expert tactician."

"That does not mean he is qualified to lead such a large team on such a high ranking mission." Shiekan stated.

"Hey! Shikamaru is a great leader!" Kiba protested.

All around him, he saw the same determined looks that Kiba had. Then he turned to look at Shikamaru. His posture, his face, his eyes, they all showed the look of a natural born leader. The same look he had seen on his grandfather before...

"Alright...I yield command to you. Because...you remind me of my grandfather." Shiekan sighed.

"What does that mean?" Shikamaru asked.

"My grandfather was a great leader, as the Shinkage of the Village Hidden in the Shadow." Shiekan said, making Kakashi's eyes go wide.

"Very well. Troublesome as it is. I'll do it." Shikamaru stated.

"Hidden Shadow Village?" Ino asked.

"A story for another time. Right now we need to get out of this forest as soon as possible." Shiekan stated.

"Alright. Make sure everything is packed and let's move." Shikamaru ordered.

"Wait!" Hinata spoke up, gaining everyone's attention. "Kakashi sensei, I wish to go with you." She declared.

"No, Hinata. I need you to stay with the group. I could never forgive myself if you got lost too." Kakashi stated firmly.

"You need me. Out in the woods, only my Byakugan can find a landmark twice." She argued.

Kakashi sighed. He did have the Sharingan, but it had its limits. "Very well...but stick close to me."

"I don't suppose I can talk you out of this foolishness either?" Shiekan asked the Hyuga mistress.

"Yes Lady Hinata. Please reconsider." Neji begged firmly.

"No. I'm doing this." Hinata said firmly.

"Hinata...this isn't going to win you Naruto's heart." Ino said bluntly.

Hinata just narrowed her eyes at the Yamanaka heiress.

"I'm going." Hinata said finally as she packed up the last of her things and stood next to Kakashi.

"Very well. I'll expect you both to return to Hyrule castle in a week. After that we will assume that you're both dead." Shiekan stated. "I hope to see you and your two pupils before then, old friend."

"You as well. We shall return as soon as we find them." Kakashi declared.

Shiekan and Shikamaru nodded.

"Platoon, move out!" Shikamaru ordered. The 9 remaining ninjas, led by Shiekan, began hiking towards the Hyrule Plains. Leaving Kakashi and Hinata alone with the camp fire.

"Guess it's our turn. Did you happen to see where they went after the battle or during?" Kakashi asked.

"I didn't. I was too preoccupied watching my own battle against those skeletons." Hinata said sadly.

Kakashi sighed. "Then we'll have to try some other methods." He said as he took out a kunai and sliced his thumb.

"What are...wait, summoning? Why didn't you think of that when we lost them?" Hinata exclaimed.

"I have my reasons." Kakashi stated. _'I can't believe I forgot about it until now.'_ He thought.

Kakashi slammed his palms to the ground and summoned Pukkan, his ninja pug.

"Hey Kakashi. What's up?" Pukkan greeted.

"Gotta track down my missing pupils in a forest known for people getting lost at the drop of a hat." Kakashi informed.

"Alright." Pakkun sniffed the air and smelled something rather familiar. "Wait a minute...where are we?"

"The Lost Woods." Kakashi stated.

"The Lost Woods?! What in blazes are we doing out here?"

"We were taking a shortcut to get to Hyrule castle. But never mind that now. We need to find Naruto and Sakura as fast as possible. Can you pick up their scent?"

"I can try...how long have they been lost?"

"Thirteen hours."

"That might be a problem. Knowing these woods, their scent would have dissipated after 8."

That's when the tiny dog noticed the Hyuga girl standing next to Kakashi.

"Who's she?"

"That's Hinata Hyuuga." Kakashi informed.

"She has the Byakugan?" Pakkun asked.

"Obviously." Kakashi stated.

"That'll help. Stick close to me. Hopefully we can pick up something." Pakkun stated.

With that, the trio dashed into the woods in search of the Tenchi duo.

* * *

Meanwhile, said ninjas were sleeping peacefully inside their tree hut in the Kokiri village. Sakura was sleeping on her side with Naruto wrapped up behind her.

They were suddenly rudely awakened when Saria rushed in and stumbled on a rug.

"Guys! Wake up!" She said in a panic.

"SKT! What!? What!?" Naruto snored as he shot up.

"The Deku Tree! It's full of monsters! Please help!" Saria begged.

"Woah, what?! Monsters? Slow down." Sakura said as she too began to wake up.

"The husk of the Deku Tree has become a holy place for us since he died. But when a couple of my friends went there to pray for Links safe returned, they were attacked by monsters living inside it!"

"Monsters? Are they alright?" Sakura asked as Naruto instinctively put on all his gear.

"They're okay, but scared."

"That's a relief. But why do you want us to go in? Don't you have warriors of your own?" Sakura asked.

"No, we don't! Link was the only one to be considered a warrior..."

"Well don't worry. Me and Sakura-chan will take care of these monsters no problem. Believe it." Naruto declared, earning a groan from Sakura.

"Really..." Sakura sighed.

"Please help...we'll reward you however we can..." Saria begged.

"No need. You guys took us in. Consider this a freebie." Naruto said as he zipped up his Chunin vest.

"Hold on, exactly what kind of monsters are we talking about here?" Sakura asked.

"I don't know...I can't get much out of them, but we have a pair of fairies to aid you if you need them."

"Fairies?" Naruto wondered if he had heard that right.

"Yes, fairies. I have one. Every Kokiri has a fairy." To assert her point, Saria's fairy popped out as a small ball of glowing light with wings.

"Woah!" Naruto exclaimed the fairy danced around his waist and back towards Saria. Sakura meanwhile made a huge gasp. "FAIRIES!?" She squealed in delight with her eyes sparkling.

"You act as if you never seen a fairy before." The little ball of light giggled.

"No, we don't have any fairies where we come from. Although we do have fairy movies, which Sakura-chan is a fan of." Naruto explained.

"Oh my God. I can't believe that they're real! I want one of my own..." Sakura said as she tried to touch Saria's fairy.

"Hands to yourself if you please." The fairy requested.

"The two fairies we have just flew in a few days ago. Tatl and Tael. They will help you to identify the monsters and their weaknesses." Saria informed, bring the two back to the whole reason why she was here.

Two winged balls of light flew into the tree hut. One a dark purple like the setting sun and the other bright yellow like the rising sun.

"Oh my god!" Sakura squealed.

The yellow fairy circled around Sakura and landed on her arm as gently as a butterfly.

"Hi, I'm Tatl." The yellow fairy spoke.

"Hello, I'm Sakura." The medic in training replied giddily.

The purple fairy landed on Naruto's shoulder and burped. "What's up? The names Tael." The obviously male sounding fairy greeted.

"Tael, that's gross!" Tatl complained.

"I thought it was funny." Naruto chuckled.

"I like this kid already." Tael smirked.

"Boys..." Sakura and Tatl groaned.

"Please tell me you don't know him." Tatl said.

"I do. We grew up together and we're dating." Sakura informed.

"Dating?! Ick!" Tatl exclaimed.

"Yeah seriously. Why'd you want to date an annoying girl?" Tael demanded.

"Hey, she's not annoying. She's awesome!" Naruto defended.

"She's a girl ain't she? Ain't nothing but trouble. The lot of them." Tael declared.

"Better watch what you say around her. She'll smear you across the wall like a fly." Naruto whispered.

"You wanna repeat that..." Sakura growled, a vein popping out of her forehead.

Tael gulped. "N-no..." Tael hid behind Naruto's shoulder and whispered in his ear. "What'd I tell you?"

"Stay on her good side and you won't have anything to worry about. Piss her off and you'll know it." Naruto whispered back.

"Phsst, whatever." Tael said as flew back around to Naruto's other shoulder. "So I didn't get your name. You do gotta name, don't-cha?"

"Naruto."

"Naruto, eh? That's a strange name, but who am I to judge?"

"We're from Fire Country." Naruto informed, shocking the two fairies.

"ACK! That's over a thousand miles away!" Tatl exclaimed.

"What in the world are you doing here of all places?!" Tael asked in shock.

"Tatl! Tael! They have the Triforce markings on their hands!" Saria's fairy exclaimed, making the two look down at their right hands. They both gasped before looking at one another and sending the other a knowing nod.

"Please...time is of the essence! If those monsters are not cleared out, the whole village will be overrun." Saria pleaded.

"We can explain everything later. Come on, we've got a village to save!" Naruto declared.

Naruto and Sakura quickly dashed out of the door, the fairies following behind before catching up to lead them to the Deku tree.

"This way!" Tatl ordered.

They ran through the village, on top of the water and through a narrow passageway that led to a large clearing with an enormous dead tree.

Naruto whistled. "Wow...that's a big tree."

"Hey! Newcomers!" An annoying voice yelled from the base of the tree.

"Oh goodie...its Mido..." Sakura muttered before they ran down the hill to meet Mido at the base of the tree.

"What the...how are you going to help us if you don't have a sword and shield?!" Mido questioned.

"Don't need any. We've got our ninja tools, our ninja skills, and our armor." Naruto replied.

"I didn't let Link through because he didn't have them. What makes you think your skills are good enough to go in there?"

"Are you gonna go in yourself?" Naruto asked.

"I don't have my gear on me. Besides, it's not my job."

"So why do you care if we go in?"

"Because if you two die in there, who's gonna get rid of the monsters?"

"Nobody apparently, because I don't see any other volunteers lining up!" Naruto exclaimed, his arms outstretched to behold the empty field they all stood in.

"Alright, look." Sakura started before pulling out some of her weapons. "These are more than enough to deal with your monster problem."

Mido saw Kunai, shuriken and senbon needles in Sakura's arsenal. He assumed Naruto had the same and relented. "Fine. Just go."

Mido stood aside to let them pass through and the two Shinobi entered the massive hollow tree. Almost right off the bat, they were met with a myriad of monsters that were on the ground floor.

"Oh boy...This is gonna suck..." Naruto groaned.

"Oh what are you doing, complaining? You love a good fight." Sakura lectured.

"Well I woke up early and I'm hungry so I'm grumpy. So there." Naruto countered.

"And I'm not? My ribs still hurt." Sakura shot back.

"Fine. I'll just finish it off quickly." Naruto said as he crossed his fingers.

"Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!" He shouted.

In an instant, 100 clones popped into existence and the monsters rushed. Skulltulla's, Deku Scrubs, Tektites, Floormasters and Lizafols charged at them like a stampede.

"Alright men!" Naruto shouted a rallying cry as he drew his kunai. "ATTACK!"

The clones all drew their own kunai and let loose a thundering war cry before charging at the monster horde.

"LET'S DO THIS!" Tael shouted as he flew side by side with Naruto. Getting ready to flutter around the monsters to death.

 _'Like hell I'm being left behind.'_ Sakura said with determination as she joined in on the fray as the clones and monsters collided.

She stabbed one lizard monster in the eye and punted a Deku Scrub into the head of another Lizafols. Naruto meanwhile was making use of his many allies to block, dodge, and party every attack sent at him while he found openings to finish off his opponents.

Together they worked like a perfect team of death, sweeping through the enemy lines and destroying them with impunity.

One by one the monsters fell to them and before either of them knew it, they had defeated the last monster in the chamber. The two shinobi were left standing in a room piled with monster corpses.

"Well that was easy." Naruto said as he rested his head against his hands.

"We're not done yet." Tael stated.

"Huh, how do you know?" Naruto asked.

"Obviously, if the monsters came from the hole, there is more. So we need to go down there and finish them off." Tatl clarified.

"Huh, makes sense. So we just jump down there, pop him in the chops, then see what qualifies as breakfast over in Kokiri." Naruto said.

"It's more detailed than that, but once we get down there, we can guide you." Tatl said.

"Sounds good. Lead the way." Sakura said.

"Just jump down, but it's a long drop." Tael said before flying down.

"We could always climb down." Sakura suggested.

"Nothing to climb onto! Just jump down!" Tael said from below.

"She means the ninja way of climbing." Naruto clarified as he walked right off the edge of the cliff, but instead of falling 100 feet into the water below, his feet stuck to the sides of the cliff like suction cups.

"What are you guys?!" Tael exclaimed.

"They're ninja's obviously!" Tatl called.

"Well the only Ninja's I know of are the remnants of the Hidden Shadow Village so bite me!"

"No thanks! I'm on a low stupid diet!"

"HEY! YOU TAKE THAT BACK!"

"Yell a little louder! I don't think the monsters heard you on the other side of the world!"

"This is gonna be our whole day, isn't it?" Sakura whispered to Naruto.

"You guys coming or what?!" Tael called.

"Yeah we're coming." Naruto answered back.

The two descended to the bottom of the hole where there was a pool of water at the bottom.

"Aw...I was hoping you'd make a splashy entrance..." Tael pouted.

"Really..." Tatl deadpanned.

"Not today, buddy." Naruto said as he stepped atop the pool of water as easily as he would on a bank of snow.

"Well, damn...okay, so that platform across from us is shear we need to be. In order to do that, we have to go through the rooms to our right-"

"Left, idiot. We have to go through the room to our left that will...wait a minute. What am I saying? You two can just climb up there." Tatl deduced.

"Why don't we just try both? I'm sure listening to you two argue will never get old." Naruto said sarcastically.

"Oh like you two don't do that..." Tatl stated.

"We don't...wait, do we?" Naruto asked.

"Not as often as we used to. We had our fights, sure. But usually because Naruto here did something stupid." Sakura said as she went into the room on the left.

"You know that's the long way around, right?" Tatl reminded.

"Well in case there are more monsters hidden in the other rooms." Sakura reasoned.

"Fair enough." Tatl relented before joining up with Sakura. "You guys coming or what?"

"Yeah, and what was that about me always starting our arguments? They were because you just had to be so uptight about stuff." Naruto countered as he followed behind Sakura.

"Oh don't you turn this around on me. 90% of the time it's always been you doing something stupid. Like the time you thought mom's lipstick was candy." Sakura shot back.

"And you just wouldn't stop teasing me about it! Told everyone in school about it." He defended.

"You deserved it." Sakura retorted.

"I was 6."

"Yea, now whose arguing." Tael scoffed.

"Shut up!" They both shouted.

"Okay, geez." Tael said as he rested back on Naruto's shoulder. The two ninjas stopped when they entered the center of the room.

"Grr, got me in a bad mood. So what do we do now?" Naruto said.

"You see those torches in the center of the room? They act as a switch to raise the bars on the door. Find a way to light them." Tatl instructed.

"Where is that Teme when you need him?" Naruto grumbled as he took a torch.

"Who?" Tael asked.

"Our bastard teammate." Sakura explained. "He knew the fireball jutsu."

"Ah..."

"So...do you have anything to light the torches?" Tatl asked.

"We've got flint and steel." Sakura said.

"That works." Tatl relented before she spotted some large nuts on the floor. "Sakura. Collect those nuts. Those will be useful in the future."

"Huh, how will they be useful?" She asked as Naruto got to work on lighting the torches.

"They act like a flash grenade. They will blind your enemies, temporarily stunning them."

"No way." Sakura said as she took one and threw it at the wall. It exploded into a flash of light, just as Tatl said.

"See? They are Deku Nuts. These are plentiful all over Hyrule."

"Eh, I'd rather just use bombs." Tael said. "Better to blow up your enemies rather than daze them for a bit."

"Sounds reasonable to me." Naruto said.

"They would have to go to death mountain to get those, Tael."

"I know that. It's the only place they can get a bomb bag." Tael replied.

"Death mountain? What's that?" Naruto asked, intrigued.

"An active volcano inhabited by the Gorons." Tael said.

"Who are the Gorons?" Sakura asked.

"A proud race of people who typically dwell in the mountains. Also called, Rock Folk. Mainly because their diet consists of rocks." Tatl stated.

"They eat rocks? You can do that?" Naruto asked in awe.

"They can, but humans can't. They are actually living rocks of sorts."

"Oh right." Naruto said sheepishly.

"Then there are the Zora." Tael said.

"The who?" Sakura asked.

"Zora. Water folk. Basically, fish people." Tatl clarified.

"Like mermaids?" Naruto asked, getting excited.

"Sorta...but not really. Think of them as human fish, but without the tail." Tael informed.

"Actually the tail comes out the back of their heads." Tatl corrected.

"Ah, right."

"Interesting. We outta go see them." Naruto said as he sent just the right number of sparks to lit the torch and have it burst into flames. "Got it!" The torch burst into flames and filled the room with a warm light. He then started lighting the other torches by passing the flame from one torch to another.

"Maybe much later. We have to get to Hyrule castle, remember?" Sakura reminded him.

"Right, right." Naruto replied as he lit the final torch and the bars to the door rose up, allowing them to continue. But at that moment, 3 bipedal insects dropped from the ceiling and attacked.

"Are those spiders?!" Sakura exclaimed fearfully.

"Ghoma larva. Their eye is their weak point when it turns red." Tatl informed.

"Right." Naruto said as both he and Sakura dodged their pincers.

They both rolled underneath the legs of the spider monsters and leapt up with kunais drawn. They stabbed them both straight in the eyes and watched as the monsters exploded into nothing.

"Great work!" Tatl praised.

"They ain't done yet." Tael said as the two shinobi made a U turn towards the third and final Ghoma larva. Sakura dashed ahead with Naruto slowed down to make a Shadow Clone. Sakura got the monster's attention and dodged out of the way of its pincers, leaving its eye open to Naruto's newly made-

"Rasengan!" He shouted as he plunged the spiral chakra sphere into its eye, destroying the monster.

"Woah...cool!" Tael exclaimed in awe.

"Amazing!" Tatl praised.

"I gotta learn how to do that..." Sakura said in awe. She had seen it a few times before, but it never ceases to amaze her.

"Alright, what's next?" Naruto asked as he flicked the monster juices off his hand.

"We move onto the next room." Tael stated.

"What's in there?" Naruto asked.

"Have no idea. We'll just have to find out." Tatl stated

"Well okay then." Naruto said as he led the way to the next room.

The door raised up and they passed through the doorway, only to slam shut behind them with bars.

"A trap door? Clique." Sakura stated.

That's then a Deku Scrub popped out of the ground and shot nuts at them, one beaning Naruto in the head.

"Ack! Right in the f- ing nose!" He hissed.

"Bounce its nuts back at it to get it to talk." Tael informed.

"It's what?!" Naruto asked before being beaned again in the eye.

"Those nuts you idiot..." Sakura deadpanned.

"You do it, I'll just punt that stupid thing into- AAAH, MY OTHER EYE!" He cried out.

Sakura sighed. "Dodge you idiot..." She deadpanned before one came at her, she caught it and threw it right back at the Scrub, causing it to squeak in pain and jump out of its hole.

"Owowow! Alright, you win!" The Scrub screamed.

"There, see, not too hard now is it?" Sakura lectured as Naruto nursed his face.

"I'll tell you how to get past my brothers ahead if you let me go." The Scrub said nervously.

"Darn right you will. Let's hear it." Sakura demanded.

"You'll never be able to get past them to get to Queen Ghoma without defeating them in the following order; 2,3,1."

"2, 3, 1...? What are they, numbered?" Naruto asked with a swollen nose.

"You'll see when you come to them!" The Deku said quickly before disappearing into the ground.

"Well that was helpful. I think." Sakura said.

"It's a code. If the numbers are 2, 3 and 1, there must be 3 of them. That means we have to hit them in that order to get through to Ghoma." Tatl deduced.

"Sounds simple enough." Sakura stated.

"It's a code. If the numbers are 2, 3 and 1, there must be 3 of them. That means we have to hit them in that order to get through to Ghoma." Tatl deduced.

"Sounds simple enough." Sakura stated.

"We're almost there so let's go." Tael urged.

They made their way to the next room, where there were plant like monsters that resembled Venus fly traps, there jaws snapping and dripping with venom.

"Deku Baba's. Easy to kill. Aim for the stem." Tatl informed.

"Sure, why does a plant have teeth?" Sakura asked as she readied her kunai.

"They're carnivorous. In this case, man eaters."

"Yes, but why does a plant have actual bones for teeth!" Sakura exclaimed as the babas snapped at her.

"Beats me." Tatl shrugged.

"Whatever." Naruto said before he charged right in. The plants bit at him, but he rolled under their jaws and sliced through its stem.

"Naruto, watch out!" Sakura shouted as another baba bit at Naruto, managing to sink its teeth into his shoulder. Naruto grit his teeth, but kept his grip on his kunai enough to slice his attacker's stem as well.

"That hurt..." Naruto grunted. He pried the plant's jaws off his shoulder. "Shoulder guard on one side. What was I thinking?" He muttered to himself.

"You weren't as usual." Sakura sighed before checking out his injury.

"Give it to me straight, doctor. Will I ever play the saxophone again?" Naruto asked dramatically.

"You could never play it before, so I don't know what you are worried about." Sakura said dryly as she tore open his shirt to get a better look at his bite marks. His skin was punctured and bleeding, but not gushing. Like a large dog bite.

"Doesn't look too bad, honestly." Sakura said before she got working on healing him. She concentrated her chakra into a glowing green sphere and pressed it against Naruto's wound. He instantly felt a soothing relief wash over him from his wound. The relief came in waves, but quickly subsided when Sakura finished her work.

"Done. That fox did most of the work, but it shouldn't leave a mark now." Sakura reported.

"Fox? What fox?" Tael asked.

"She means the Nine Tails." Tatl stated

"Ooooh. That fox." Tael said.

"Wait...how did-"

"How did I know? Simple. I could sense it the moment we met you two." Tatl said simply.

"But how could you tell it was the Kyuubi?" Naruto asked.

"200 years ago, there was a fierce lava dragon by the name of Volvagia. She terrorized the land of Hyrule for some time. One day, the Nine Tails as you call him, challenged Volvagia and won, destroying the Dragon in the process. The Kyuubi, or Kurama as he's known to Hyrule, is actually considered a savior among some of the people of Hyrule." Tatl explained. "I was there when the battle took place, so his energy is familiar to me."

 _ **'Oh yea...I forgot about that...'**_

 _'You fought a dragon?'_ Naruto exclaimed.

 _ **'Volvagia was a pushover. All talk and no walk. Your 3rd Hokage could have taken her easily.'**_

 _'Well the Old Man was no slouch either. He took on that snake Orochimaru in his old age, didn't he?'_

 _ **'I just said he could take her...'**_ Kyuubi deadpanned.

 _'But you said...never mind. Why did you fight her anyway?'_

 _ **'I was passing through the countryside, taking a nap in the fields, and Volvagia was making a ruckus. I thought I'd tell her to shut up. Ended up killing her. Next thing I knew, a bunch of townsfolk came out of their homes to offer me tribute and tried to wrap me in some giant green sheet.'**_ The Kyuubi explained.

 _'So wait...is Kurama your real name?'_ Naruto asked.

 _ **'Is it so damn surprising that I have a real name instead of THE Kyuubi?'**_

 _'Well...I thought that was your name.'_

 _ **'I go by many names, but yes...Kurama is the name I was given when I was brought into this world.'**_ Kurama groaned. _**'Bah, why am I talking to you so often anyway? Pissin' me off, you stupid brat.**_ ' He said as he tried to lay his head down to go back to bed.

 _'I was gonna ask you that same question. Do you miss being in Hyrule or something?'_

Kurama sighed. _**'Before you ninja came along and started using us as weapons, we roamed about the world in peace and Hyrule was actually the place I could actually call home...so...yeah, I guess I do miss it. There, now can I sleep?'**_

 _'Yeah sure...'_ Naruto said, not sure what to do with this information.

"Yo Naruto." Sakura said as she snapped her fingers in front of his face to try to get his attention.

"I'm good...was just learning some new things about the Ky...uh, Kurama." Naruto said.

"Kurama? The fox...is that who you were talking to?" Sakura asked worriedly.

"Yea...turns out, he's a lot more mellow being here. Hyrule in general. He thinks of it as his place to call home."

"Well that's...that's...that's unexpected..."

"Honestly...I feel bad for him..." Naruto said sadly.

"Feel bad for him later. We've got three more nut heads to smack around, then one last big baddie to deal with." Tael said. "I can feel it."

"Yea, we've stalled long enough." Tatl agreed.

"Right, so where do we go next?" Naruto asked.

"Through that hole." Tatl said, pointing out a small hole in the wall just barely big enough for them to crawl through.

"Huh, ladies first." Naruto offered.

"Youngest first." Sakura replied.

"Highest ranking ninja last."

"You know...ugh...fine..." Sakura grumbled before getting on her hands and knees and crawling through.

 _'Hehehe...'_ Naruto smirked as he followed Sakura close behind.

"I swear, of you do anything back there, I will kick you." Sakura warned.

"What me? I would never." Naruto defended innocently.

"Yea right..."

The two of them crawled their way to the other side, where a fall into the pool below awaited them.

"Dumb blondes first." Sakura said as she tossed Naruto into the drink.

"GAAH! What was that for?!" Naruto shouted.

"For staring at my ass the whole time." Sakura said as she leapt down to the water's surface.

"And I've caught you checking me out as well!" Naruto defended.

"It's different when it's me." Sakura said.

"Well if you can look then so can I. It's only fair."

"It's not fair. You're a boy, so when you look at me, it's with perverted eyes."

"Maybe...but they're only for you and you alone."

"Well that's sweet, but I'm still permitted to look more than you. I'm a lady."

"Now you're starting to sound like Ino." Naruto smirked.

"I learned that from Lady Tsunade, I'll have you know." Sakura said as she walked on top of the water.

"Yea yea..." Naruto grumbled before standing up to face the scrubs.

"None shall pass, so be on your way!" The middle scrub shouted.

"Make us leave." Sakura said firmly as she readied a Kunai.

The middle deku responded by shooting his nut at her, which Sakura knocked back to hit him.

"Ha!" She shouted right before getting beaned in the face by another.

"Haha!" Naruto laughed before he too was struck in the face by the third deku.

"Why you..." Sakura growled as she wiped the blood from her nose. She pulled out a Kunai with an explosive tag and launched it. It stuck in the ground in front of the Scrub before exploding, stunning the plant monster.

"Now you..." She said, focusing on the final scrub.

"WAIT! I'll talk! Don't hurt me!" The Scrub cried out.

"No excuses!" Sakura shouted as she charged at the scrub, only to be held back by Naruto.

"Sakura no! It's not worth it!" He cried as Sakura kicked and screamed. "Let me at em! Let me at em!"

"Please don't hurt me! I'll let to you through and tell you how do to defeat queen Ghoma."

"That sounds great. If you could just tell it to us." Tatl said as she and Tael flew over to the deku scrub.

"Yeah, these two might be at it for a while." Tael agreed as they looked over at the two bickering shinobi.

"It's simple. Stun her when her eye turns red. She will be completely vulnerable to attack then."

"That's it? What's with you monsters and your eyes?" Tael asked.

"Oh hush, it's just with the Ghoma's, remember?" Tatl lectured.

"Oh yea..." Tael said sheepishly.

"Idiot." Tatl rolled her eyes.

"It's simple. Stun her when her eye turns red. She will be completely vulnerable to attack then."

"That's it? What's with you monsters and your eyes?" Tael asked.

"Oh hush, it's just with the Ghoma's, remember?" Tatl lectured.

"Oh yea..." Tael said sheepishly.

"Idiot." Tatl rolled her eyes.

The Scrub vanished and the bars to the door raised up, allowing them to continue through to the Ghoma.

The two heroes looked up from their little skirmish to see that the doors had been opened.

"Oy, lovebirds! The final monster is inside and its weakness in its eyes. Let's hussle!" Tael shouted from the entrance.

"Yea come on! You're supposed to be a new couple but you act like an old married couple! Let's go!" Tatl called out.

"We're not lovebirds!" Naruto and Sakura shouted in sync.

"Oh? So I guess you two are not dating then." Tatl stated, which made the shinobi stop dead in their tracks.

"What? Of course, we are." Sakura replied.

"Could have fooled me, the way you two bicker."

Sakura and Naruto then grasped the reality of what they were doing. A sudden wave of shame hit them and looked down shamefully.

The two of them muttered to themselves, annoyed. They just could never get away from the teasing, couldn't they?

"Come on you two. To destiny." Tael said dryly as he flew over to Naruto's shoulder.

"Destiny? What destiny?" Sakura asked.

"What nothing, I was just making a comment." Tael said as he rested on Naruto's shoulder.

Sakura just shrugged it off for now as they entered into a large, dark room with 4 pillars, but no sign of an enemy.

"It's empty..." Sakura said uneasily.

Suddenly, a door slammed shut behind them, making whatever light was there leave.

Sakura jumped right on Naruto from the sudden sound.

"W-w-what happened..." Sakura sputtered.

"I don't know. Trap maybe?" Naruto said as he went on high alert.

That's when they heard something big crawling around.

"N-Naruto...what is that..." Sakura trembled.

"Sounds like a giant bug." Tael stated, making the pink haired medic in training to go blue in the face. She hated bugs.

She squeezed Naruto's head even harder. She HATED bugs. Ever since she was a little girl. They always creeped her out.

"Oh no no no no no no..." She said.

"Up there!" Tatl called out, making them all look up to see a monstrous bug looking monster the size of a dump truck.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Sakura screamed in Naruto's ear, while holding onto him for dear life.

"GAAAH! My ear!" Naruto exclaimed.

The massive bug dropped from the ceiling and landed in front of them with a ground shaking thud, rearing up on its stinger and roaring.

It was a spider. A massive and horribly disfigured spider with glowing legs and one massive yellow eye with a cross pupil. It seemed to look back and forth between the two ninjas like it had seen its next meal.

"Wait for its eye to turn red. Hit its eye to stun it and then attack." Tatl advised.

"Easier said than done..." Naruto wheezed out as Sakura squeezed his neck in fear. This was the largest bug she had ever come across. Even bigger than the one she saw during the Chunin exams and that one she said was as big as a bus.

"Kill it! Kill it!" Sakura begged.

"I can't...can't...breath..." Naruto wheezed.

Sakura quickly released Naruto's neck and then promptly hide behind him as the giant spider stepped closer.

"Kill it! Kill it! Kill it!" She pleaded.

Ghoma reared up on its stinger again, ready to strike when its eye turned red.

"Now!" Tatl shouted for Naruto to strike.

Naruto slashed at the Ghoma's eye with his kunai. The arachnid gave a satisfying howl of pain but maintained enough of its strength to leap back up to the ceiling.

"Too shallow!" Tael called.

"Grr." Naruto grit his teeth and crossed his fingers, summoning up 3 dozen Shadow Clones to give chase towards the monster.

"Careful! She's going to drop eggs!" Tael shouted out.

"What eggs?!" Naruto shouted as the Ghoma spewed out a dozen eggs at his Shadow Clones. The eggs then burst into mini Ghoma.

"SPIDERS!" Sakura shrieked in terror. One was bad enough, but now they were hatching.

A dozen of Naruto's clones broke off to squash the new spiders. They each stomped or stabbed their prey, save for one that jumped onto a clone's face.

"Ack! Get it off of me!" The clone hollered.

"Sakura! Don't just stand there! Help him!" Tatl barked.

"I... I can't..." Sakura stammered, completely frozen in fear.

"Dammit! Get over it! They're bugs! You'll face far worse than that with future events!" Tael shouted.

"The village is counting on the both of you, Sakura!" Tatl added.

The other clones meanwhile were fighting the mama Ghoma up on the ceiling. Her pincers and legs crushing any Shadow Clone she could reach while the clones couldn't make it towards her weak spot.

Sakura looked up at all the Naruto clone's fighting on her behalf. She remembered all the other times Naruto had stepped in between her and danger without a second thought. All the times he had been brave for her.

"Don't cry, Sakura-chan. Don't give'em the satisfaction. Ya gotta be brave." She remembered.

 _'Now it's your turn...be brave for him.'_ Inner said.

"Sakura-chan." Naruto said to get her attention. She looked down at Naruto's back as he stood strong in his Toad stance.

"You can be strong." He said. Even without looking back at her, Sakura knew that Naruto was giving her that smile of his.

Sakura smiled at him. A warm smile that he could feel without looking at her.

"Okay, Naruto-kun." She replied, her determination and her confidence leaking through.

"That'a girl. Now let's take down this bug one and for all. Together." He said as he outstretched his hand, the beginnings of a Rasengan forming. "You know what to do."

"Our combination jutsu..." Sakura gasped in awe.

"Yeah, it'll make mincemeat out of this damn bug. We just need to get in close." Naruto said.

"Right." Sakura said with renewed determination. "Give me a boost up. I'll knock that creep down."

"Sure thing. Say the word." Naruto smirked as Sakura tightened her black gloves.

"Naruto! Maneuver 7!" She shouted as she sprinted towards the Ghoma.

Another clone met her at on the ground with his fingers intertwined and hanging low. Sakura ran straight at him and raised her foot up high to use his hands as a stepping stone. The clone threw her up over his head as she kicked out and was propelled high up at the ceiling towards the Ghoma.

Sakura twisted her body in midair to line up her kick, focusing all her chakra into her leg. She looked over and saw the Ghoma staring back at her, nearly robbing her of all of her confidence with its creepy red eye. Sakura's eyes then glanced over at one of the Naruto clones holding back the Ghoma's pincers for her and her strength was renewed.

"Take this! Medic Kick!" She shouted. Kicking the webbing out of the Ghoma as she sent the monster crashing down to the ground.

"YEA! WAY TO GO!" Naruto cheered.

Sakura smirked even as she felt a shooting pain travel up her leg.

 _'Damn these glass cannon techniques.'_ She grimaced.

"DO IT, NARUTO!" She shouted.

"NOT WITHOUT YOU!" Naruto called out.

Almost immediately, she was caught by a clone in midair who carried her to Naruto's side as he formed a Rasengan. Forming several hand signs, Sakura put her left hand under his right and her right hand over the Rasengan. This made the Rasengan turn pink with razor sharp sakura petals swirling around it. They had hoped this would work as this was their first time using it in combat.

"Ready..." Sakura said softly before removing her right hand.

"Thanks Sakura-chan." Naruto said before sprinting towards Ghoma as fast as he could, the pink Rasengan spinning faster and faster. He screamed a war cry as he slammed his palm into the monster's eye.

"CHERRY BLOSSOM BOMB!" Naruto shouted as the attack exploded, shooting thousands of razor sharp Sakura Petals through the monster as it howled in pain.

Its cries were short, as it soon exploded into a million gooey monster pieces, covering our two heroes with monster guts.

"Aw man..." Naruto groaned.

"Ew, ew, ew, ew... BLUECH!" Sakura was so grossed out that she actually threw up from the monster guts all over her.

"Oh my god, that's so gross!" Tatl screamed.

"Eh, quick complaining, it's fine." Tael said.

Almost in an instant, the guts of the monster burned away into nothing but smoke, but didn't help Sakura's weak stomach.

"Oh my god, that was so gross." Sakura said on her hands and knees. She then felt a hand rub her back in slow circles.

"You okay?" Naruto asked.

"No. I just threw up the breakfast I didn't have, my ankle is probably broken, and that was so gross I just want a shower and for you to keep rubbing my back." She whined.

"Can do..." Naruto soothed as he continued to rub her back.

"Ugh, now I'm gonna puke." Tael groaned as he sat down on Naruto's shoulder.

"Not on me please..." Naruto warned.

"Oh he's just being a jerk." Tatl said as she landed on Sakura's shoulder to comfort her.

It was then that some sort of glowing light appeared in the middle of the room with some kind of wisp in the center. Naruto and Sakura both looked up at the glowing apparition in question.

 _ **"Brave youths..."**_ The wisp started in a calm and booming tone. _**"Thou art truly courageous and skilled. Truly, thou can carry on thy mission to save Hyrule..."**_

"Who said that?" Naruto ask as he readied his kunai for another attack.

"It was that wisp..." Sakura said as she sat up. "Who are you?"

 _ **"Worry not young one. I mean thy no harm. I am a messenger from the Gods, the ones who have bestowed upon thee the powers of the sacred triangle; Triforce."**_

Naruto and Sakura noticed that their two hand seals began to glow brightly through their bandages. They both held them up to get a better look at them.

 _ **"Yes. You two are the chosen ones. Thy have been chosen to bring balance to the world and stop the corrupt heart of the Gerudo King himself; Ganondorf, from spreading his evil through the world. Even thy home is not safe from that vile man."**_

"What do we have to do?" Naruto asked with determination. If there was a way to stop this evil man than they had to take it.

A glowing green light appeared above them that soon transformed into a green stone, encrusted inside a gold spiral in the shape of a leaf. Similar design to the Hidden Leaf symbol.

 _ **"Thou must collect the remaining spiritual stones and enter the Temple of Time. There, thou will come across the Blade of Evil's Bane; the Master Sword. With it, thou will be able to banish the man in black into the Sacred Realm, where he will remain for eternity."**_

"The Blade of Evil's Bane..." Naruto repeated. He liked the sound of that.

"What are these other spiritual stones. How many are there? Where will we find them?" Sakura asked.

 _ **"There are two more stones. thou must now travel to Death Mountain. There, thou will find the second stone, the Stone of fire, is kept safe by the Goron people. From there, thou must travel to Zora's Domain, where they hold the Stone of Water. Once thou have acquired all 3 stones, make your way to the Temple and retrieve the Master Sword."**_

"Death Mountain, Zora Domain, and Temple of Time. Where are we supposed to find these places? We come from a land far away." Sakura said.

 _ **"I know where it is you come from, O Ninja of the Hidden Leaf."**_

"H-how?"

 _ **"As I have said, I was sent here by the gods."**_

"Who are you really?" Naruto asked.

 _ **"In life, I was once this tree you now stand in."**_

"The what?" Naruto asked as he looked around at the walls of the tree trunk.

"No way..." Tael gasped.

"It's the spirit of the Great Deku Tree..." Tatl breathed out as both fairies bowed in respect.

"I'm sorry, but how can a tree talk?" Naruto asked, being his usual brass self.

 _ **"I was once the guardian spirit of these woods, given a consciousness by the goddesses. Because of Ganandorf's evil magic, I succumbed to death and this tree is now nothing but a mere shell."**_

"Oh..." Naruto said sadly.

 _ **"Do not despair young hero. Go forth to acquire the stones and the sword, save these lands, and nothing shall be in vain."**_ The Deku spirit commanded, filling both young heroes with hope.

"We will." Naruto said, even while Sakura remained uneasy.

 _ **"Then I leave it in your hands."**_ The spirit smiled down upon them before ascending. Leaving the heroes and their fairy companions alone.

"Alright, time to go find those stones!" Naruto declared.

"Wait!" Sakura interrupted.

"Wait? Why?" Naruto asked.

"Naruto, I know that you're not gonna want to hear this, but I think we should rejoin our platoon first."

"Oh...but we gotta do this after we meet back up with them." Naruto pressed.

"Wait, you're not arguing with me?" Sakura asked.

"That was our original deal, wasn't it?"

"Well I mean... I thought you'd want to go out and get this master sword as soon as possible." Sakura admitted.

"And I do, but you raise a good point. We should find our friends first. That's the smartest move."

"Huh...wow..." Sakura was truly flabbergasted.

"What? That's our shtick, isn't it? You're the brains and I'm the brawns." He said.

"Well yeah, but you always...never mind..." Sakura waved off and picked up the glowing green stone. "Wow..." She said in awe of the large gem before her.

"Yeah, it's a beauty, ain't it?" Naruto said as he beheld the jewel.

"Yea, but look at the design of the gold inlay."

"Um, I'm no jewelry expert. What am I looking at?" Naruto said.

"The gold trim around the jewel. It looks like the Leaf Symbol, doesn't it?"

"Oh yeah." He said, now realizing that detail. "Ain't that a coincidence?"

Just then, another glowing light appeared in what looked like some kind of portal.

"The heck is that?" Sakura asked.

"Oh. That will take you out of here and back in front of the Deku Tree husk." Tatl informed.

"Well that's... convenient" Sakura said.

"Very, now let's get out of here." Naruto said as he lifted Sakura up in a bridal carry, much to her surprise and delight, and walked into the glowing ring where their wounds were immediately cured and their energy replenished.

In an instant, they found themselves outside and completely refreshed. All their injuries and their fatigue from their week-long travel were just memories now.

"Holy crap, I feel good." Naruto said.

"Same. You can put me down now." Sakura said with a warm smile.

"Sure thing." Naruto said as he carefully put Sakura down. She tried to put some weight on her foot and was delighted to find that it was completely healed.

"Oh that is so much...OH GOD!" Sakura shrieked when she turned to the direction of the village and saw a huge, thick cloud of smoke billowing from it.

"The village!" Tatl shrieked. "Is it... burning?"

"Let's go find out!" Tael said.

They rushed back to the village as quickly as they could. Once there, the grim reality set in. Every house was set ablaze. Bodies of the Kokiri lay strewn throughout the burning village as monsters piled out of there from the direction they came.

Fat out in the corner, there were still a few Kokiri villagers desperately trying to put out the fire on their homes. Filling up their buckets with pond water and rushing back and forth between their tree huts. Only to be cut down by skeletons with swords.

"SKELEFOS!" Naruto growled in rage as he charged at the murderers.

"Stalfos." Tael corrected.

"They'll fucking pay..." Sakura growled in rage as she charged as well.

The Stalfos pulled it's blade out of the torso of one of the villagers as Naruto punched it square in the face, sending the skeleton flying across the front yard.

It landed hard against a burning house where it shattered to pieces, a second one joining the first that was sent flying by Sakura.

One by one, each Stalfos was destroyed, but only a few of the villagers were left alive and where trying desperately to extinguish the flames.

Sakura put her hands on her knees and gasped. "Where did they...come from?" She gasped.

"I don't know, but I think we got all of them." Naruto responded.

"No you didn't." One of the villagers said with dread. "Look!" He pointed at the piles of bones that began to reform itself until the once defeated Stalfos rose again. Then another Stalfos rose and another and another. They were all coming back to life.

"Oh that's it..." Naruto growled before creating over a hundred shadow clones, all armed with explosive kunai.

The army of clones charged, determined to finish off the monster hoard. Sakura was about to join them when she heard something. A man? A boy? Definitely a male, screaming, "HEYAH!" Out in the distance.

"What is that?" Sakura wondered out loud.

"I know that battle cry anywhere..." Tatl said in awe.

"You do?"

Tatl nodded. "That was...Link..."

Almost on cue, a black figure jumped right out in front of Sakura, a sword aimed right for her head.

Faster than Sakura could react, a clang rang out in front of her. She opened her eyes and saw that a boy in green with a shield was standing between her and the dark figure.

"Mido?" Tatl asked.

"Sup, Sakura." Mido smirked as he held back the attack from the dark figure.

"Mido? What are you doing?" Sakura asked.

"Saving you, obviously. Now get out of here while I fight this guy. Find Saria and get her to safety."

"What about the rest of the villagers?" Sakura asked.

"Naruto has that well in hand from the looks of things." Mido pointed out all of the clones saving the villagers.

"Where is Saria?" Sakura asked as Mido held the dark being back.

"I don't know, look for her!" Mido grunted before pushing the dark figure away.

"Okay!" Sakura said as she and Tatl ran off to find Saria. Leaving Mido alone with the dark figure. The leader of the Kokiri people reached for his sword.

"Come on you ugly jerk! Show me what you've got!" Mido shouted as he swung his sword at the figure's neck.

The dark being simply parried Mido with its own sword and then knocked the Kokiri with his shield. Mido stumbled back and was completely open to the Dark being's slashes. First, he cut off Mido's sword arm and then his legs. Faster than the Kokiri leader could react. He fell on his back, failing pathetically as the dark being stepped closer to him.

"NO PLEASE!" Mido screamed as the dark being plunged his sword inside the young looking man, ending his life in a single thrust.

The dark being looked up at the pink haired girl running away from him, his eyes glowing red with hate. He said not a word as he vanished into a cloud of ash.

Sakura turned a corner past another burning tree and saw Saria trying to raise a poor, sobbing girl to her feet to run.

"Saria!" Sakura called out.

Saria looked over at the voice that called out to her and was surprised to see a head of pink hair amongst all the embers and ash floating about in the air. Then she remembered her friend that she had met just the other day.

"Sakura." Saria said as a black figure materialized next to her and cut down the girl she was helping right before her.

She looked up in horror and recognized another familiar face.

Amidst all the smoke and ash, the shimmering darkness and the glowing red eyes, she would recognize that face from anywhere.

"Link...?" She asked at the dark figure before her.

"SARIA!" Sakura shouted as she saw the girl Saria was helping being cut down. She tried to sprint towards the girl, but her path was cut off by a squad of Stalfos.

"Damn it, MOVE!" Sakura shouted as she charged at the Stalfos, ready to fight her way through.

She charged chakra through each of her arms and plowed through them like they were made of paper.

Yet for each one that she beat down, another seemed to take its place.

Meanwhile, Saria could no longer see the destruction happening around her. All she could see was the shadow covered face of her friend growing clearer and clearer. The shadows seemed to calm in front of her presence until she could clearly see the face of the boy she considered to be her best friend once again. The boy she...wanted to be more with... He had returned.

"Link..." She nearly cried as she leaned forward and placed her open palm against his cheek. He had grown taller, and he was so cold.

"You're back..." She choked out. Her heart was going crazy with emotions. The dam nearly broke when she thought that she saw Link smile.

"...Yeah..." Link said softly.

Saria smiled before feeling an ice cold blade slip through her ribs and pierced her chest and out her back.

"It's good to be back..." Dark Link finished.

"SARIA!" Sakura shouted as Saira fell to the ground, completely lifeless. She could help her, but not with these Stalfos in the way. She felt so helpless...so useless...

Then something snapped.

Her Triforce seal exploded in a bright golden light, creating a shockwave that vaporized the stalfos where they stood.


End file.
